For the first time, privately-owned Stada has acknowledged the potential for a sale of the business – six years after the private equity duo Bain Capital and Cinven announced a deal worth upwards of €5.4bn for the German firm.

Xbrane and Stada have announced that they are seeking a new North American partner for their biosimilar ranibizumab candidate after agreeing to discontinue a deal with Bausch+Lomb.

Stada will strengthen its Consumer Healthcare business in key markets like Germany and the UK with the acquisition from Sanofi of an OTC brand portfolio including Opticrom eye drops and Omnivit vitamins.

Stada has named new leaders for the UK and the Eastern Europe region. Meanwhile, French industry association Gemme has elected a fresh president and a new executive has joined Civica.