The fourth largest domestic drug maker by revenue, Lupin is reportedly looking for a suitor for its domestic formulations business. This comes a little over a year after another top drug maker Piramal Healthcare sold its domestic pharmaceutical business for a handsome $3.7 billion to US-based pharma giant Abbott. The price Piramal Healthcare fetched for its domestic drug making business was nine times its annual sales figure. Experts feel that Lupin, if it decides to dispense with its domestic drug making venture with a purpose to solely concentrate on its overseas business, would not settle for anything less and is likely to get a valuation in the range of Piramal Healthcare ? around eight-nine times its domestic annual revenue. Other analysts said Lupin’s India business would be positively valued over $1 billion.
The Indian market contributed 32% of Lupin?s revenue of R5,706 crore ($1.3 billion) in the fiscal 2010-11.
Lupin vehemently denied any plans to sell its domestic operations. ?This speculation is baseless and there is no such activity going on,? a Lupin spokesperson told FE. Net Sales of Lupin’s India region formulations grew by 17% during financial year 2010-11 to touch R1,550 crore against R1,330 crore in the financial year 2009-10. The company?s shares fell 0.9% to R480 around noon after gaining 1.1 % on BSE on Monday following the reports of possible sale. The company’s stock ended at R479, down 0.85% since the previous close.
Meanwhile in the US prescription market, Lupin has emerged as the fifth largest generic player. Lupin is currently the market leader (number one in market share) in 14 out of 30 generic products in the US that it is present in and in 27 out of these 30 generic products, it holds one of the top three positions by market share.
While announcing the financial results of the last fiscal, the company had said, ?Lupin remains the fastest growing (among) top 10 generics player in the US, India, Japan and South Africa?.
Lupin, India?s fourth-largest drug maker by revenue, has a 3% share of the domestic market, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pte said last month, making it the sixth largest pharmaceutical supplier in India by value. Cipla had the biggest share of the local market, with 5%. Eight of Lupin?s nine manufacturing facilities are in India ? Goa, Tarapur, Ankleshwar, Jammu, Mandideep, Indore, Aurangabad and Vadodara. The ninth is in Sanda, Japan.
Three of the plants have been approved by the US FDA for exporting drugs to the country, according to the company?s website.
Medicines to fight tuberculosis and other bacterial infections accounted for 26% of Lupin?s domestic formulation sales, according to the company?s annual report.
It also makes gynecological medicines, drugs to treat heart disease, diabetes and asthma. Tonact, a generic form of Pfizer Inc (PFE)?s Lipitor, diabetes medicine Gluconorm and blood-pressure pill Ramistar are Lupin?s top sellers in the domestic market, according to Nomura.