Taro to acquire Canada's Thallion Pharmaceuticals

New Delhi: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today said an indirect arm of its group firm Taro will fully acquire Canada's Thallion Pharmaceuticals for 2.7 million Canadian dollar.

Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc (Canada) has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Thallion Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation, Sun Pharma said in a regulatory filing.

The cost of all-cash acquisition will be Canadian dollar 2.3 million with an additional amount of Canadian dollar 0.4 million due at the completion of an additional pre-clinical animal study or April 1, 2019, it added.

"As we understand from Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc, its objective of the acquisition is to expand its innovative product development by the acquisition of Shigamab orphan drug

candidate," the filing said.

The company further said that after the acquisition, Taro Pharmaceuticals (Canada) will have only rights for development of orphan drug candidate Shigamab which targets E. Coli-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome that leads to kidney failure.

No turnover is expected of the existing products since all the revenue-producing assets have been transferred from Thallion to the seller company Bellus Health, it said. Thallion Pharmaceuticals had a turnover of Canadian dollar 3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

There will be no material effect of this acquisition by Tao Pharmaceuticals on the consolidated revenue of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the filing added. The stock of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries closed at Rs 706.70 today, down 0.59 per cent, on the BSE.