Novartis India has inked an agreement to acquire the trademarks ‘Minipress’ and ‘Minipres’ in India and certain related intellectual property rights from Pfizer Inc and Pfizer Products Inc, for ₹1,250 crore.
Minipress XL (containing prazosin) is primarily used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), besides managing urinary symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
The development comes after private-equity firm ChrysCapital’s acquisition of the entire 70.68 per cent stake in Novartis India Ltd (NIL), previously held by the Swiss parent company Novartis AG. The India business has a new management and will soon have a new name as well. The move is seen by industry insiders as an effort to bulk up the PE-owned India business. Novartis India operates across segments including pain management, calcium supplementation, gynaecology, neurosciences, and transplant immunology with brands including Voveran, Calcium Sandoz and Tegrital, to name a few.
In a separate announcement, Pfizer in India said it would discontinue marketing, distribution and sale of Minipress XL from September 7 – following American drugmaker Pfizer Inc’s decision to discontinue the manufacture of Minipress XL. In connection with the decision, it said, it would receive “a lump sum payment of $13.9 million (roughly ₹131.38 crore) from Pfizer Inc USA”.
According to industry tracker IQVIA, for the 12 months up to July 2026, Minipress XL recorded revenue of ₹228.6 crore, growing at 6.3 per cent for four years while the category has been growing at 9 per cent in the same period, Novartis said.
NIL had been put on the block after the parent company in 2024 said that its India-listed entity was under review. In an announcement in February this year, the transaction amount was pegged at ₹1,446 crore.
With a new team and 40-odd employees, the company was to be built up from scratch, even as it continues to rely on existing relationships for contract manufacturing, an industry-voice had then said. The company turnover for March 2026 stood at ₹354 crore.