Pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila today said that it will form a joint venture with Germany’s Bayer Healthcare to sell drugs in India.

The 50:50 joint venture — Bayer Zydus Pharma — will operate in key segments, including women’s healthcare, metabolic disorders, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular disease, anti-diabetic treatments and oncology, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, the Zydus Cadila Managing Director, Mr Pankaj Patel, said: “We have always believed in partnering growth, have keenly explored new opportunities and look at synergies in the market place.”

The two partners will leverage on each other’s strengths, look at future possibilities and create a common platform to pool in expertise, he added.

“With this step, Bayer Healthcare aims to significantly accelerate its capabilities to better serve the fast growing Indian market,” the Bayer Healthcare AG CEO, Dr Jorg Reinhardt, said.

Bayer Healthcare’s pharmaceutical division will contribute its existing sales and marketing business in India to the new company, while Zydus will pool in its women’s healthcare products, diagnostic imaging business and other products.

Besides Bayer Healthcare’s existing products in India, the new company also intends to focus on sales and marketing of future patented pipeline products, it added.

Both Bayer Healthcare and Zydus will supply the joint venture with products from their respective manufacturing operations at existing locations.

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is one of India’s leading pharmaceutical firms with eight facilities supporting product launches not just in India but also in the regulated markets of US, Europe and Latin America.

In the third quarter ended December 31, 2010, the company posted a total income of Rs 1,170 crore, up 18 per cent from Rs 994 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Bayer Healthcare is a part of the Bayer AG Group with annual sales of over €15.9 billion in 2009.

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