Lupin buys cholesterol-lowering drug for $38.61 mn

Drug maker Lupin Ltd said it bought US rights for Antara, a cholesterol-lowering drug, for $38.61 million from US-listed Oscient Pharamaceuticals.

Drug maker Lupin Ltd said on Tuesday it bought US rights for Antara, a cholesterol-lowering drug, for $38.61 million from US-listed Oscient Pharamaceuticals .

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The deal for Antara, or Fenofibrate capsules of 43 mg and 130 mg dosages, include product related assets and inclusive inventory, and was struck under US bankruptcy procedures, Lupin said in a statement.

The buy will help contribute to the revenue as well as profit, Vinita Gupta, group president and chief executive, Lupin, said in the statement.

The drug recorded a net sales of $70 million for 2008, the company said.

Earlier, Lupin had filed an ANDA for Fenofibrate capsules, but sold it to Dr Reddy's Laboratories prior to buying product rights from Oscient, the company added.

In July, US listed Oscient had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US court and sold its antibiotic drug Factive to a unit of Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc for $5 million.