Biopharmaceuticals Distribution Mergers & Acquisitions

 News Release - March 30, 2006

Ranbaxy Acquires Ethimed in Belgium

Company Offers Ranbaxy Strategic Market Access and Distribution Network for Benelux Countries; Ranbaxy Continues European Expansion

GURGAON (HARYANA) India and PRINCETON, N.J., March 30 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy), India's largest pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has acquired Ethimed NV, a Belgian generic pharmaceutical distributor.

The acquisition follows similar, recent strategic moves by Ranbaxy in Romania and Italy, and will allow Ranbaxy to anticipate local market dynamics and capitalize on the changing business landscape in Europe. It is the intention of Ranbaxy to manage operations throughout the Benelux countries from Ethimed in Belgium.

Belgium is the 7th largest pharmaceutical market in Europe and Netherlands is the 6th largest market with a combined market size including Luxembourg, of USD 7.6 Bn (MAT Dec 05).

Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Burema, President, Europe, CIS, Africa and Latin America, Ranbaxy, said, "Ethimed offers Ranbaxy a ready and robust distribution network to exploit new product opportunities in the future. It also provides the Company, a strong base from where we can manage and expand our operations in the Benelux countries. We see this acquisition as strategic to our business in Europe."

The Belgium market is largely a branded, high priced market with increasing generic penetration. The acquisition positions Ranbaxy favorably to capture a significant portion of this expanding market.

Ethimed is an established generics company in Belgium with a significant customer network, especially among pharmacies. It has over 20 product registrations and is ranked number 10 among generic companies in Belgium.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, headquartered in India, is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies. Ranbaxy's continued focus on R&D has resulted in several approvals in developed markets and significant progress in New Drug Discovery Research. The Company's foray into Novel Drug Delivery Systems has led to proprietary "platform technologies," resulting in a number of products under development. The Company is serving its customers in over 125 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 46 countries and manufacturing operations in 7 countries.

Source: Ranbaxy Laboratories

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