New Jersey-based Par Pharmaceutical, which specializes in high barrier-to-entry generics and niche branded drugs, will acquire Indian generic drug maker Edict Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth up to $37.6 million in cash, according to Pharma Times.

Edict, which develops and manufactures solid oral dosage generics, has a "strong product pipeline focused on niche first-to-file, first-to-market formulations."  The company currently has seven ANDAs filed with the FDA (plus one ANDA submitted in the name of a development partner) with an additional 14 products in development.

Par's president Paul Campanelli noted that Edict's facility adds significant operational capacity and provides business continuity protection" for the firm's plant in New York. He added that the company "has a long-standing relationship" with Edict's chief executive, Muthusamy Shanmugan, "having collaborated on numerous current Par products."