A source said the competition watchdog would by next month suggest 'structural remedies' that included selling key drug segments as conditions for clearing the country’s largest pharmaceutical industry merger.
When contacted, both Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy refused to comment.
On April 6, Sun Pharma announced it would buy Ranbaxy from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo in a $4-billion all-share deal.
Sun Pharma had then said it expected to close the deal by December.
CCI can take up to 210 days to clear a merger. After that a proposed deal is deemed to have been approved.
“Around five months have gone down since the companies applied for approval.
"We have written to the companies and sought their responses.
"They have said they can make changes. We need to close the issue by November-end,” a CCI official said.
The competition watchdog is writing to Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma suggesting changes to get the deal going.
The regulator will also set up “a monitoring agency to ensure adherence consequent to the order”, according to the source.
The regulator had sought comments from the public and stakeholders on the merger following concerns that the presence of both companies in key drug segments could lead to monopoly
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