Lupin eyes acquisitions in US, Europe

Drug major Lupin is eyeing acquisitions in various global markets, including the US, Latin America and Europe, as it looks to bolster its presence overseas.

“When it comes to new markets, Lupin would go in for a deeper dive in the Latin American continent as well as Europe,” Lupin Ltd CFO Ramesh Swaminathan told PTI.

In terms of markets that the company is most likely to acquire in – they would be the US, Latin America, Europe(Russia, Turkey), Japan and China, he added.

“We continue to be on the lookout for meaningful targets in the inhalation, complex injectables and derma space,” Swaminathan said.

During the last fiscal, global markets (excluding India) accounted for around 75 per cent of the total revenues of the company, which stood at over Rs 11,000 crore.

Lupin, which has already entered the Mexican market, would also continue to look for acquisitions in key Latam markets such as Brazil, he said.

“We are looking at ramping up and building our presence in Europe specifically markets such as Russia and parts of Eastern Europe and you would see us add to that during FY 2015-16,” Swaminathan said.

Commenting on the outlook for the US market, which contributes close to 44 per cent of Lupin’s overall sales, he said the market would continue to be the company’s principal growth engine.

“The US generics business would be a strong growth driver – I expect close to 15-20 generic product launches over the next 12-15 months,” Swaminathan said.

The company further expects product approvals to pick up in the US market.

The company’s cumulative abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) filings with the US Food and Drug Administration stand at over 200 with close to a 100 pending approvals, of which close to 30 filings would be exclusive first to file opportunities that are yet to come into play.

Commenting on the company’s brand business, Swaminathan said the company has signed various agreements in the US market in FY 14, including the one inked with Romark Laboratories.

“All these measures would support us in consolidating and strengthening our US brands business… One must expect new brand launches from the company in the new calendar year,” he added.

Further, the company expects to grow at around 15-20 per cent in the Japanese market.

“We expect Japan, which is our third largest business, to grow at around 15-20 per cent as it has done over the last five years,” Swaminathan said. PTI