The non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continues to be a major public health challenge. According to World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contribute to around 5.87 million deaths that account for 60 % of all deaths in India. India shares more than two-third of the total deaths due to NCDs in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) of WHO.
Four types of NCDs—cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes make the largest contribution to morbidity and mortality due to NCDs. As the disease burden continues to rise, chronic disease segments is a priority for various pharmaceutical companies.
Eris Lifesciences Ltd. is a publicly listed Indian pharmaceutical company with a sole focus on domestic branded formulations. Eris was founded in 2007 and currently ranks 21st in the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM). Eris has established a leading presence in its core cardio-metabolic franchise in just 15 years from inception, accounting for 50% of its revenue. It is also successfully diversifying its business with 3 emerging therapies Dermatology, Neuropsychiatry and Gynaecology accounting for 20% of its revenue and growing at > 25% p.a.
On Tuesday, Eris Lifesciences reported its third quarter earnings for the financial year 2023-24 with profit at Rs 102.74 crore, marginally up from Rs 101.86 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 486.30 crore, up 14.9 per cent as against Rs 423.26 crore during the third quarter of FY23. While the total income reported by the company during Q3FY24 was at Rs 490.49 crore, the total expenses incurred during the quarter in review was at Rs 374.62 crore.
In recent times, Eris has made strategic entry into Dermatology; acquired dermatology and nephrology brands from Biocon, acquired Oaknet, brands from Glenmark & Dr Reddy’s.
In an interview with Financial Express.com, Krishnakumar Vaidyanathan, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Eris Lifesciences talked about the company’s upcoming business growth plans, challenges in the domestic pharmaceutical companies, product portfolio among others. Excerpts:
Eris Lifesciences has a strong presence with segments like diabetes, cardiovascular, neuroscience and gynaecology. What are your upcoming plans for these segments?
We derive 63% of our revenue from our Established Therapies (Diabetes, CVD and VMN) and nearly 30% of our revenue from our Emerging Therapies (Derma, CNS, Gyne and Nephrology). We will deepen our presence in our therapies by expanding our covered market; we have interesting patent expirations to look forward to, alongside a robust pipeline of several first-in-market combinations coming through our own R&D pipeline. We relaunched three “at-risk” products Zayo, Linares and Raricap FCM injection in CY23. We plan to launch Glargine and Liraglutide from MJ’s pipeline in Q4 FY24. We have also lined up exciting new product launches in several other therapeutic areas including Dermatology and Cosmetology.
In November 2023, Biocon Biologics announced the plan to divest its dermatology and nephrology branded formulations business units in India to Eris. What is the current status of this deal? How will this influence your presence in the India market? Will there be any change in the management?
The transaction was successfully concluded in November 2023. The key leadership and entire field force of this business consisting of ~ 120 personnel have moved to Eris post deal. This deal is in line with our strategy of expansion in chronic and sub-chronic therapies through a mix of organic and inorganic routes and delivering market-leading growth. The Biocon deal enabled us to consolidate our position in Dermatology, specifically in the Psoriasis segment – with leading brands like
Psorid, Tbis, and Picon. We have become the second largest player in Psoriasis with an 11% market share post the deal. We have also entered the Nephrology space through the Biocon deal. This is a logical extension of our market leading position in the Cardio metabolic segment, since diabetes and hypertension are key drivers of Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD. We can now offer end-to-end care to patients starting with diabetes, hypertension, and all the way to CKD. The market for Nephrology drugs is presently worth around Rs. 3,000 crores per annum and is growing at 11% per annum. Given the rapid progression in the onset of diabetes and hypertension cases, we expect a consequent increase in the CKD disease burden in the years to come.
The non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to be a major burden in India. Eris has a strong-hold with major NCDs like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. How increasing incidences of NCDs can become a market opportunity for Eris? What are upcoming plans for these segments?
India is called the “Diabetes capital of the world” with 100+ million diagnosed & 136 million pre-diabetic cases. We have an estimated 315 mn cases of Hypertension and 213 mn cases of High Cholesterol. With nearly 50% of our revenue coming from Diabetes and Cardiovascular therapies where we hold leading market positions, we believe that we are well positioned to address the need for medical care in these segments. We will continue to deepen our presence in these therapies through expansion of our product portfolio and doctor coverage.
There are a lot of drugs that are going to be off-patent in the coming months. Are there any plans to launch a generic formulation for the same?
We have participated and taken leading market shares in several patent expiration opportunities in the last 3 years – our brands like Zomelis, Gluxit, Zayo, Linares, Raricap FCM, and Glura stand testimony to our success. We will continue to actively participate in patent expiration opportunities in our focus therapies in the years
to come as well.
There is a lot of emphasis on enhancing research and development and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. How does Eris look at this need for its business growth?
We have been investing in our own R&D initiative which has been gathering momentum over the last few quarters. We are focused on developing fixed-dose combinations with an initial identified investment of Rs. 30 crores. We now have an active pipeline of 14 first-in-market combinations in Diabetes, Cardiology, Neurology, Gynaecology and Gastrointestinal. Two of our R&D products received DCGI approvals for launch in Q3 FY24 – these are Gliclazide-Dapagliflozin and Gliclazide-Sitagliptin combinations. We look forward to launch more combinations in the coming financial year.
What are the challenges that Indian pharmaceutical companies are facing at the moment? How is Eris tackling these hurdles?
The most significant operational challenges came during the Covid pandemic with the disruption of field operations and a significant escalation in the prices of raw materials. This situation has eased out now.
