US-based pharmaceutical firm Mylan Inc’s Rs 5,168 crore proposal to acquire Indian generic drugs company Agila Specialties was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Tuesday.

The proposal will now have to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), as it involves investments of more than Rs 1,200 crore.

The FIPB, which had first taken up the proposal on July 5, had been deferring a decision because of objections by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).

DIPP had objected to the takeover on the grounds that it could affect the availability of oncology (cancer-related) injectables, which are produced by just a couple of Indian drug-makers.

Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram added that all pending pharmaceutical investment proposals related to brownfield projects have also been cleared. This includes a Rs 330-crore investment proposal by Symbiotec Pharmalab Ltd and a proposal by Lotus Surgical Specialties.

Earlier this month, an inter-ministerial group, headed by the Prime Minister, gave the green signal to the Mylan proposal, ruling that the existing FDI policy would apply for approval of all pending pharmaceutical proposals.

According to the ‘Share Purchase Agreement’, Mylan will acquire the entire issued and outstanding share capital of Agila Specialities Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of pharma firm Strides Arcolab.

Meanwhile, DIPP is working on a Cabinet note to impose restrictions on FDI in the areas of vaccines, injectables and oncology medicines.

amiti.sen@thehindu.co.in

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