Pharmaceuticals and biologics company Biological E Ltd (BE) has acquired Akorn India Ltd, a subsidiary of US-based Akorn Inc, for an undisclosed sum.

“We are happy to have made a strategic investment in acquiring Akorn India,” Mahima Datla, Managing Director, BE, said in a release issued on Monday. “We will leverage BE’s and Akorn India’s capabilities to enhance our supply capacities both in vaccines and in generic injectables. The timing of this acquisition is fortuitous as it will immediately allow us to expand our capacity to manufacture our investigational Covid-19 vaccine.”

“With these capacities, we would be in a position to offer over 1 billion doses per annum,” she added.

The deal will help Hyderabad-based BE, which manufactures specialty generic injectable medicines and vaccines, enhance its manufacturing capabilities and capacities, the release said.

It is now in the process of developing a Covid-19 vaccine and may be able to use the facilities at the Akorn India Paonta Sahib plant in Himachal Pradesh for commercial scale manufacture of the vaccine at the appropriate time, it added.

The Himachal plant has a fully staffed sterile injectable manufacturing facility with 39,000 sq m of built-up area spread over a 14-acre campus with an annual capacity for about 135 million units with the potential for immediate expansion to produce another 30 million units.

According to Narender Dev Mantena, Director, BioE Holdings Inc., who heads BE’s novel vaccines initiative, the acquisition will allow BE to expand its capacities to meet the increasing demand in the US and the EU. “This acquisition will pave a new way for BE and add a significant value for our business operations and global supply of our products,” he added.

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