Chattanooga-based Chattem Chemicals Inc. has been bought by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in a move one official said will help boost the growth prospects of the local business.
“Absolutely — we expect it to grow,” said Jim Kedrowski, Chattanooga-based Chattem Chemicals’ vice president of commercial development.
Mr. Kedrowski said Sun Pharmaceutical, headquartered in Mumbai, India, makes generic drugs so Chattem Chemicals will be able to produce active ingredients for those. Chattem now employs 65 people and that figure could grow as well, he said.
Chattem Chemicals was sold to Sun by Elcat Inc., which bought the business from consumer products maker Chattem Inc. in 1995. Sun’s purchase price for Chattem Chemical wasn’t disclosed.
Chattem Chemicals’ sales were at $26 million for the year ending in June, according to the company.
Dilip Shanghvi, Sun’s chairman and managing director, said in a statement the acquisition reflects “our strategic resolve to be a more active player in the pain management segment in the U.S.”
According to Sun, Chattem Chemicals is registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a narcotic raw material importer. The import registration includes four controlled substances listed in Schedule 2: methamphetimine, phenylacetone, raw opium and concentrate poppy straw.
In addition, the company is licenced by DEA to make Schedule 1 to 5 controlled substances, according to Sun. Chattem Chemicals manufactures a variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients with a focus on controlled substances, Sun said.
Mr. Kedrowski said Chattem Chemicals also makes glycine, which is used if a person is intravenously hospital fed. It also makes pamabrom, an active ingredient in premenstrual medications, he said.
Mr. Kedrowski said Chattem already is on a growth path, with revenues having risen by 50 percent in the last 18 months.
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
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