Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (BSE: 524715) last week paid $293 million for 14 “established prescription” drug brands currently being marketed by Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) in Japan. Under terms of the agreement, Novartis will continue to distribute these unidentified brands for a certain period, pending transfer of all marketing authorizations to Sun Pharma’s subsidiary. The acquired brands will then be marketed by an established marketing partner under the Sun Pharma label. This transaction expands Sun’s footprint in Japan’s $73 billion pharmaceutical market.