Pharmaceutical major Cipla on Tuesday said that it has sold the India rights of its i-pill business to Piramal Healthcare. Out of the deal, which was an all cash-transaction, the company managed to raise Rs. 95 crore.

i-pill is one of the main brands in the emergency contraceptive segment and was launched by Cipla in 2007.

i-pill had total sales of Rs. 309 million in the last 12 months and is one of the top-300 pharmacy products in India.

Piramal Healthcare has gone ahead with this acquisition because it wants to strengthen its over the counter (OTC) portfolio.

OTC is a huge market in India which is worth $18 billion and has a growth rate of 18 per cent. Piramal has been a player in the market and now wants to grow its share.

Talking about this, Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Healthcare said that the OTC is still in a nascent stage and provides for a huge growth opportunity.

He further added that the ECP segment is the main focus of the company and is expected to grow by 250 per cent to reach Rs. 100 crore.