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New introductions are contributing around 3.5 per cent to the overall growth of JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (JB Pharma), known for its legacy brands like antacid Rantac, hypertension drug Cilacar, Metrogyl (for bacterial and parasitic infections) and Nicardia (cardiac drug), the company's CEO said.
Speaking to Business Standard, Nikhil Chopra, CEO and whole-time director of JB Pharma said that in the third quarter they were the fastest-growing among the top 25 companies in the domestic market.
“We are growing at 16 per cent, compared to the Indian pharma market (IPM) growth of 8 per cent, and a 12 per cent growth of the market which we cover,” he claimed. He said while legacy brands are helping to maintain a stable growth rate, new introductions are contributing around 3.5 per cent to overall growth.
From a 46th rank in 2022, Cilacar moved to 34th spot in 2023-end. The data is for the full calendar year or moving annual turnover (MAT). Similarly, for Metrogyl, the rank improved from 145 in 2022 to 108 in 2023, Chopra said.
Nicardia’s rank improved from 197 in 2022 to 154 in 2023. Rantac, however, has retained its rank at 37 while its turnover has grown from Rs 330 crore in 2022 to Rs 365 crore in 2023. Turnover for its probiotic brand Sporlac nearly doubled from Rs 65 crore in 2021 to Rs 121 crore in 2023.
JB Pharma saw an opportunity here and introduced Sporlac GG (paediatric) and Sporlac EVA (gynaecology). Chopra said they are now bringing a liquid form of Sporlac probiotic (something on the lines of Sanofi’s Enterogermina). The liquid probiotic market is estimated to be around Rs 500 crore, of which Enterogermina alone sells worth Rs 150 crore. It also launched Ranraft, a medicine for reflux acidosis, in November 2022 and has already sold 100,000 bottles of the syrup.
Chopra also said that only 12-15 per cent of their portfolio comes under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) where the prices are capped by the pricing regulator.
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Currently, the company draws 53 per cent of its revenues (Rs 2,387 crore in nine months of 2023-24) from the India market. Together with their contract development and manufacturing business (CDMO) where JB Pharma has an expertise of making lozenges, the overall contribution of India and CDMO to consolidated turnover is 65 per cent.
The company aims to take this up to 80 per cent in the next two-three years where the India business alone would contribute around 60-65 per cent of the overall turnover. It has a capacity to make 2 billion lozenges every year and this is already a $50 million business for the company.
Chopra says they aim to grow it in double digits. As for the international business (Rs 1,127 crore in 9M-FY24), it is in the process of recalibrating its South Africa business. The focus in South Africa is shifting to the private market from a public market presence.
