Sun Pharma wants to rise on niche route

Lost 50% market value in 2 years due to competition

At 61, Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi has seen many cycles since he started Sun Pharmaceutical at Vapi in 1982 with just Rs 10,000. Almost 35 years later, Shanghvi is falling back on the same strategy of building a portfolio of niche products as competition erodes the pharma major’s profitability in its most important market — the US.

Investors in Sun Pharmaceutical have lost about Rs 25,000 crore in the last two weeks since its US subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical announced a 32 per cent annual decline in net profit to $83 million for quarter ended March 2017. Net sales for the subsidiary