Investment will add a second anticancer agent to its portfolio.
Simcere Pharmaceutical plans to acquire a 70% equity interest in Wuhu Zhong Ren Pharmaceutical for RMB 64.82 million, or about $9.27 million. Simcere says that the transaction strengthens its focus on first-to-market branded generic and innovative new drugs as well as expands its anticancer portfolio.
Zhong Ren Pharmaceutical is a Chinese drug manufacturer specializing in the production of sustained-release antitumor implants. Its key product is SinoFuan, which is reportedly the only sustained-release antitumor implant approved by the State Food and Drug Administration. It is used to treat cancers of the digestive tract.
Simcere will leverage its marketing channels to distribute SinoFuan. Currently, the firm manufacturers Endu for stage III/IV non-small-cell lung cancer in China.