A ‘Warning Letter’ of May 7, 2014 from the USFDA to Sun Pharmaceuticals – the no.1 pharma major by market capitalization in India has nailed its Karkhadi, Vadodara, Gujarat based plant in India for similar data deletions as found at Ranbaxy.
Such data manipulation reportedly got Ranbaxy into so much trouble that it last year paid U$ 500 million and agreed to plead guilty to 7 felony charges.
The concerned Gujarat based plant of Sun pharma manufacturers the antibiotic cephalosporin.
This development came to the fore just weeks after Sun Pharmaceutical announced a US$ 3.2 billion deal to buy the much troubled, yet the largest generic drug company of India – Ranbaxy.
My earlier apprehensions on this deal:
At that time in my blog post of April 14, 2014, I expressed my apprehensions on this deal on four key areas, with as many words as follows:
1. Sun Pharma too is under USFDA radar:
As we know that along with Ranbaxy, Wockhardt and some others, Sun Pharma also had come under the USFDA radar for non-compliance of the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).
Under the prevailing circumstances, I apprehended, it would indeed be a major challenge for Sun Pharma to place its own house in order first and simultaneously address the similar issues to get USFDA ‘import bans’ lifted from four manufacturing plants of Ranbaxy in India that export formulations and API to the United States.
This could be quite a task indeed for Sun Pharma.
2. Pending Supreme Court case on Ranbaxy:
Prompted by a series of ‘Import Bans’ from US-FDA on product quality grounds, the Supreme Court of India on March 15, 2014 reportedly issued notices to both the Central Government and Ranbaxy against a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking not just cancellation of the manufacturing licenses of the company, but also a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the allegation of supplying adulterated drugs in the country.
Ranbaxy/ Sun pharma would, therefore, require convincing the top court of the country that it manufactures and sells quality medicines for the consumption of patients in India.
3. CCI scrutiny of the deal:
Out of the Top 10 Therapy Areas, the merged company would hold the highest ranking in 4 segments namely, Cardiac, Neuro/CNS, Pain management and Gynec and no. 2 ranking in two other segments namely, Vitamins and Gastrointestinal.
Noting the above scenario and possibly many others, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), after intense scrutiny, would require taking a call whether this acquisition would adversely affect market competition in any of those areas. If so, CCI would suggest appropriate measures to be completed by the two concerned companies before the deal could take effect.
This would also be a task cut out for the CCI in this area.
4. SEBI queries:
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has already sought information from Sun Pharmaceutical on stock price movement and the deal structure.
According to reports, it is due to “Ranbaxy shares showing good movement on three occasions: first in December, then in January and subsequently in March 2014, just before the deal was announced.” This has already attracted SEBI’s attention and has prompted it to go into the details.
The matter is now subjudice.
The current scenario:
Out of my four identified areas of challenges, Sun Pharma has already started feeling the heat in the following two areas:
1. Quality issues with FDA:
The issue is extremely important, as to turn around Ranbaxy, this has to be addressed to the complete satisfaction of the USFDA. Otherwise, the game is a non-starter.
2. SEBI queries on stock price movement and the deal structure:
In this area, just today the Supreme Court reportedly refused to stay the Andhra Pradesh High Court order that stalled the US$ 4 billion Sun Pharma merger with Ranbaxy. Daiichi Sankyo and Ranbaxy had approached the Supreme Court seeking vacation of the stay of the status quo order by the High Court, which on April 25, 2014 directed the BSE and NSE not to approve the merger while admitting a petition by retail investors alleging insider trading in the US$ 4 billion deal.
The vacation bench comprising of Justices B S Chouhan and A K Sikri also directed the High Court to decide on Sun Pharma’s application seeking vacation of the status quo order within two days and posted the matter for further hearing on May 29. The judges observed that the Andhra High Court has no territorial jurisdiction over the merger process.
The outcome of this case would indeed be interesting and crucial for Sun Pharma.
Conclusion:
Even if one keeps aside the three issues out of above four as the legal ones, the very first challenge related to USFDA on drug quality, would continue to remain as the ‘make or break’ area, for this deal to be commercially successful for Sun Pharma.
When USFDA reportedly nailed Sun Pharma’s Karkhadi , Vadodara, Gujarat based plant for similar data deletions as found at Ranbaxy, it may give a feeling that the acquirer Sun Pharma possibly is also sailing in the same boat as the acquiree Ranbaxy.
If this apprehension makes any sense, the moot question that comes up:
“Can one blind man show the right direction to another blind man sailing in the same boat in the midst of a storm?”
Let us wait for the eternal time to tell us the answer.
By: Tapan J. Ray
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.