When the medicine cabinet is bare, it is time to go shopping. Cash-rich pharmaceutical companies that find they are running short of blockbuster drugs have decided it makes sense to go looking for another company with attractive products.

The pharmaceutical logistics business is poised to grow at a faster pace in the near future with the growth of generic market opportunities the Indian companies expected to leverage in the regulated western markets, say supply chain experts.

GlobaL pharma giant Pfizer has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire RFCL’s animal health unit, Vetnex, in a deal estimated around Rs 250 crore, people familiar with the situation said. This follows the ICICI Venture-controlled RFCL’s move to divest its animal health business earlier this year.

San Diego-based Ardea Biosciences is pocketing a $35 million upfront payment and stands to earn another $372 million in milestones from a cancer drug development pact that it struck with Bayer HealthCare.