India’s Eris buys nine dermatology brands from Dr. Reddy’s for $33 million

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian drugmaker Eris Lifesciences Ltd said on Thursday it bought nine dermatology brands from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd in a 2.75 billion rupees ($33.2 million) deal to expand its portfolio in cosmetic dermatology.

The all-cash deal will be closed on or before March 31, Eris said in a stock exchange filing.

Separately, Dr. Reddy’s said the divested non-core dermatology brands included Hydroheal, Revilus, Avarta and Aquaderm to Eris.

The deal comes two months after Eris said it would acquire a portfolio of dermatology brands from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd for 3.4 billion rupees to deepen its presence in the anti-fungal and anti-psoriasis segments.

Shares of Eris closed 1% lower on Thursday in their sixth straight session of losses. They have fallen 10% since announcing the deal with Glenmark.

($1 = 82.7250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das, Hritam Mukherjee and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Eileen Soreng and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)