Sun Pharma gets approval for $4B purchase of Ranbaxy after agreeing to sell off antibiotic

Sun Pharmaceuticals will sell the rights to one generic drug as part of its purchase of competitor Ranbaxy Laboratories, U.S. antitrust regulators said Friday.

The Federal Trade Commission said the companies will sell Ranbaxy's interests in generic minocycline, an antibiotic used to treat several types of infections. The FTC said only three companies supply the drug in the U.S. right now, and Sun was planning to launch its own version, which would have reduced prices. Torrent Pharmaceuticals, an India-based company, will buy the Ranbaxy business.

Sun agreed to buy Ranbaxy in April for $4 billion, and combined the companies are expected to be India's largest drug company. They will have about $4.2 billion in annual revenue.

Ranbaxy, which is owned by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, is the largest generic drugmaker in India and has 47 factories in 65 countries spread across five continents. However it has struggled with regulatory trouble and the U.S. has banned imports of drugs from two of its factories because of concerns.