Lupin plans to buy mid-sized firm in US

Says it's looking for a branded formulation company with $100 mn turnover for acquisition.

Mumbai-based pharmaceutical major Lupin is planning to acquire a mid-sized branded formulation company in the US.

"We are growing in branded formulation business in the US. Now, we are trying to acquire a branded formulation company with a turnover of $100 million," said Desh Bandhu Gupta, chairman, Lupin.

He said the company was identifying the targets and talks were on with many players. Last year, Lupin acquired Kyowa Pharmaceuticals, one of the top ten generics companies in Japan, and Rubamin Laboratories of Baroda.

Lupin had terminated its marketing contracts with Cornerstone Biopharma of the US for co-development of an anti-infective and with Chester Valley Pharmaceuticals to promote its drugs to paediatricians.

Lupin was one of the first pharmaceutical companies from India to hit the US market with own branded generic drugs. Lupin's Suprax (cefixime), a cephalosporin antibiotic paediatric suspension, is already a major brand in the US.

Lupin Pharmaceutical, its US subsidiary, sells drug directly to paediatricians. The company also markets two line extensions of Suprax in the US.

Launched in 2004, the drug currently generates over 8500 prescriptions per week in peak season, with 73 per cent growth in sales in 2006-07. The paediatric anti-infective market in the US is valued $ 625 million, as per IMS data, a health care market research agency.

Dr Gupta said most of the generics products launched by Lupin in the US are among the top three selling drugs in their respective categories. Lisinopril, a hypertension drug, is a market leader in the US in its category.

The Rs 2000 crore plus Lupin has a pipeline of over 50 generic products for the US market, mainly niche cephalosporin anti-infection drugs. The US and Europe alone contributed Rs 331 crore to the turnover of 2007-08.

DB Gupta said the company would focus on developing more intellectual property rights on new drugs and drug delivery systems.

Lupin's advance markets formulations business comprising the US and Europe clocked in Rs 229.6 crore, with a growth of 144% in the third quarter ended December of 2007-08.