Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has announced that the company will be acquiring 5 percent in Pharmazz, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, for up to USD 15 million in cash.

Sun Pharma described the investment as strategic, noting it will gain exclusive rights to market and distribute Pharmazz’s drug, Sovateltide, in certain emerging markets. The investment will be made in two tranches: USD 7.5 million this month and the remaining USD 7.5 million by February 2025, pending specific conditions.

The investment is convertible to equity at a 20 percent discount to Pharmazz’s pre-money valuation during its next qualified fundraising, with a cap of USD 130 million on the pre-money valuation.

Pharmazz, headquartered in Illinois, is developing two major drug candidates: Sovateltide for acute cerebral ischemic stroke and Centhaquine for hypovolemic shock. Both drugs are approved in India and are marketed under the brands Tyvalzi and Lyfaquin.

Pharmazz reported an annual turnover of USD 3 million for the fiscal year 2024.

In its Q1FY25 earnings, Sun Pharma reported a 40.2 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit for the first quarter of FY25, reaching Rs 2,835.62 crore, up from INR 2,022.54 crore in Q1FY24. Revenue from operations rose 6 percent to INR 12,652.7 crore from INR 11,940.84 crore.

In Q1FY25, US Formulation sales decreased by 1 percent to USD 466 million, making up 31.1 percent of total consolidated sales. Meanwhile, India Formulation sales grew by 16.4 percent to INR 4,144.5 crore, contributing about 33.1 percent of total sales.