The fourth-largest domestic drug maker in terms of revenue plans to enter new geographies, expand product portfolio
Pharma major Lupin is looking to enter new geographies, and is scouting for companies in Japan, where it has a presence. It is also open to acquire companies in India which are a strategic fit.
Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Lupin, told dna, "We have identified a few growth areas. One of them is to have presence in markets such as Russia, China, Korea, Turkey and Brazil."
The company has been trying to build a presence in Brazil for 5-7 years, and has managed to enter Mexico through an acquisition.
"The Latin American market is a profitable market, much bigger in size than the Indian market and is growing faster than India. On long-term perspective, it is important for us to be in markets like these," Gupta said.
While it is scouting for a firm in the complex injectable space in Japan, in India Lupin may be interested in acquiring a company that will help it enter newer regions and therapeutic areas.
"In India, we would look at a regional player that has a presence in geographies where we are not strong. Also, we are not present in areas such as cancer, dermatology, and have limited presence in injectable space. All these can be looked into," he said.
Gupta said Lupin also wants to fill gaps in technology and therapies, as well as biosimilars and drug discovery. It working towards developing a product portfolio in inhalation, complex injectables and dermatology.
"The priority of the company is to acquire brands in the US. We had faced some real challenges in the US in terms of products portfolio. While we are strong on the generics side, we actually saw a decline on the branded side. So the idea is to do it through acquisition in near term, but in the longer term, we will do it through our own products."
Last year, the company acquired Netherlands-based injectable company Nanomi BV to expand into patented products.
"It is only last two years that we have seriously started looking at injectables. Though Nanomi BV is a small company, it brings us the right technology. We are also putting together the rest of the portfolio for injectables. It will take at least 3-4 years to make a dent into the space," Gupta said.
Lupin is also hiring people to build capabilities in new therapies.
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