Drug firm Lupin is expecting revenues of up to $150 million (over Rs 780 crore) from its oral contraceptive (OC) segment in the US market by 2013-14, a segment in which it had forayed recently.
The Mumbai-headquartered firm entered into the OC segment in the US in September this year with the US health regulator approving its generic norethindrone tablets in the strength of 0.35 mg.
"We are looking at around $125 million to $150 million from the oral contraceptive market in the US by 2013-14, when our portfolio would be at its peak," Lupin President Finance and Planning Ramesh Swaminathan told PTI.
Since its foray, the company has received two more approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in the OC segment, taking the total approvals to three in the US market.
Apart from generic norethindrone tablets, the company has received approvals from the USFDA to market generic versions of LoSeasonique tablets and Femcon Fe respectively.
The company's OC segment pipeline consists of 30 filings to the USFDA till date, of which it has already received approval for three generic drugs.
According to industry estimates, the US market for oral contraceptives is pegged to be around $4.5 billion.
For the second quarter ended September 30, 2011, Lupin posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 266.9 crore, up 24.13% from the year-ago period on the back of robust sales growth across all the geographies, including the US and Japan.
The company's formulations sales in advanced markets, including US, Europe and Japan, increased by 22% to Rs 2,822.9 crore during the year ended march 31, 2011, as compared to Rs 2,323.3 crore in the previous fiscal.
According to IMS Health data, Lupin remains the fifth largest generic player in the US in terms of prescriptions and is currently the market leader in 14 out of 30 generic products in the US.
