NOVOPHARM MOVING INTO U.S. PRIVATE LABEL BUSINESS WITH GRANUTEC ACQUISITION

NOVOPHARM MOVING INTO U.S. PRIVATE LABEL BUSINESS WITH GRANUTEC ACQUISITION from Roussel Uclaf Holdings, Toronto-based Novopharm announced on May 25. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Novopharm predicted that the acquisition would be completed by June 30. Granutec OTC private label sales are expected to reach $ 40 mil. in 1993, up approximately 25% from the $ 32 mil. in sales generated in 1992. Novopharm Chairman and CEO Leslie Dan said that Granutec's headquarters in Wilson, N.C. will "eventually" be converted into Novopharm's U.S. manufacturing base. Novopharm is the leading manufacturer of branded prescription generic drugs in Canada, and the lion's share of the products it sells in the U.S. currently are manufactured in Canada. The company also sells private label OTCs through its Vancouver-based Stanley Pharmaceuticals subsidiary to retail chains in Canada. Privately held Novopharm's sales are currently annualizing at $ 240 mil. (approximately $ 300 mil. [Canadian]). "Our future plans include building new manufacturing facilities in Wilson and enlarging our facilities in Largo, Fla.," Dan said. "This will result in more than [double] the production capacity of the facilities, increased local employment, as well as an expanded market for Novopharm." The company plans to use the new and expanded facilities to manufacture branded generics, private label OTCs and "innovative pharmaceuticals that are currently under development."