Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Thursday said its board has given an in-principle approval to spin off its innovation business into a new company in the US.
Setting up of the new company, which will be the firm's wholly-owned subsidiary, will provide an enhanced focus to the innovation business and help accelerate the pipeline towards commercialisation, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a filing to the BSE.
All innovative molecules in the pipeline -- including preclinical assets and technology, research and development (R&D) centres in Switzerland, an R&D centre at Paramus in the US, an R&D centre at Navi Mumbai related to the innovation business, and the biologics manufacturing facility in Switzerland along with all employees associated with innovative R&D -- will be part of the new company, it added.
The new company will have over 400 employees as part of this business. Transfer of the assets and employees to the new innovation company is expected to be completed in the next 6 to 9 months, Glenmark said.
The specialty and generics business will continue to be housed in the parent company and will not be part of this new firm, it added.
"With the pipeline at an advanced stage, we believe it's the right time for the innovation business to be an independent entity and charter its own journey towards becoming a leading biotech organisation globally," Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and Managing Director Glenn Saldanha said.
This change will provide an enhanced focus to the business, a better operating ecosystem and additional opportunities to unlock value for the parent company in future, he added.
Glenmark's current innovation pipeline consists of eight assets, including new chemical entities (NCEs) and new biological entities (NBEs), in various stages of development in the areas of immunology, oncology and pain management, the company said.
Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals closed at Rs 613.90 per scrip on the BSE, up 3.02 per cent from its previous close.
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