It’s been nearly five years since the private equity firm KKR picked up a majority stake in JB Chemicals. That journey comes a full circle for one of the country’s older drug companies, started in 1976 when JB Mody incorporated JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Laboratories.

After several months of market-buzz on acquiring companies and being acquired, JB Chem is now poised to go into the Torrent Pharma fold, following the acquisition and subsequent merger.  Over the weekend, the companies said, Torrent Pharmaceuticals had formalised agreements to acquire a controlling stake in JB Chemicals from KKR at an equity valuation of ₹25,689 crores, followed by a merger of the two entities.

The ₹3,918 crore JB Chem will cease to exist in its present avatar, with a merger clearly on the cards. Analysts who tracked the company under its founder-promoter family recall JB Chem’s journey including inroads into Russia, and its lozenges portfolio, for example. The company had sold its over-the-counter business in Russia to Johnson and Johnson for about ₹1,000 crore (2011), triggering speculation that it was the first step to a total exit.

The sale included flagship brands Doktor Mom (Russia’s second largest selling cough brand), Rinza (a leading multi-symptom cough brand in Russia) and Fitovit (a fitness product). “We don’t want to get out of the pharma space and want to focus on what we are good at,” JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals’ then President and whole-time Director (Operations), Pranabh Mody, had told businessline, following the 2011 transaction.  

Addressing concerns

Through Covid-19, the company had to also address concerns flagged in early 2020 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) on heartburn drug ranitidine. The USFDA had then asked the manufacturers to withdraw prescription and OTC versions of ranitidine, due to a contaminant known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen. The company had said it was working with vendors of ranitidine’s ingredients to ensure it met international guidelines on the contaminant.  

By July 2020, JB Chem changed hands following the KKR transaction, and was run by ex-Cipla executive Nikhil Chopra. Pointing to post-KKR acquisitions by JB Chem (such as opthalmology brands from Novartis), Vishal Manchanda, Senior Vice-President (Institutional Research) with Systematix Group, said, they were handled well, and now JB Chem goes into Torrent Pharma, who also “excels” in handling acquistions (Elder Pharma, Curatio and Unichem).

JB Chem’s ₹446 crore Contract Development and Manufacturing (CDM) business today, driven by lozenges, recently forayed into Europe through partnerships with Kenvue (formerly J&J’s consumer healthcare division) and Krka. Branded lozenges for clients are in segments including immunity, cough, melatonin (for sleep issues), and were being lined up for more geographies and partnerships, Chopra had said.   

It remains to be seen if “Torrent can repeat its past success (with acquired companies), says Manchanda, pointing to a changing business landscape. As for JB Chem’s journey in its present form, he observed, “the brand will live, the company may not.”

#JB Chem’s domestic focus segments included hypertension, heart failure, lipids, probiotics, women’s health and ophthalmology.
# Besides India, JB Pharma has a presence in Russia and South Africa.

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Published on June 30, 2025