Cipla aims for export growth
Looking to increase its exports from current 55% to more than 70% of turnover
Indian major generics manufacturer Cipla is looking to increase its exports from its current 55% to more than 70% of turnover, according to company Chairman Yusuf Hamied.
Cipla is aiming for growth of US$3-4bn by 2020, a goal that will be boosted by the recent formation of an India-specific strategic partnership with MSD (Merck & Co in the US), which gives Cipla a non-exclusive licence to market, promote and distribute MSD’s raltegravir tablet, an HIV drug, under a different brand name in India.
K G Ananthakrishnan, Managing Director of MSD in India, said the partnership was aligned with the company’s commitment towards patients in India. ‘It is a complementary partnership, as MSD brings the research and scientific excellence for raltegravir, and Cipla brings its marketing excellence and significant reach among key clinician categories to drive product access,’ he said.
Cipla’s Chief Medical Officer, Jaideep Gogtay, said the partnership reinforced the company’s ongoing commitment to HIV/AIDS treatment, making life-saving drugs accessible. ‘Raltegravir is a third line therapy treatment and would be a valuable addition to Cipla’s portfolio of HIV/AIDS treatment, especially for those patients who are resistant to the first and second line therapy treatments,’ Gogtay commented.
Cipla’s revenues in the third quarter of the 2014 financial year were up 23% overall; this was driven mainly by India where sales rose by 12%, while exports were 34% higher. The company currently exports to about 160 countries.
Cipla believes that the launch of a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair in the EU could happen during the 2015 financial year. The current market opportunity for Advair in the EU is put at around $2bn. Cipla is already the largest player in India and has successfully launched the generic version of Advair in Russia and South Africa.
Analysts have said that the global inhalers opportunity is one of the key drivers of long term growth for Cipla, and that there are more products that could be launched in both the EU and the US.
It was to capitalise on the expiry of major pharma patents that Frank Pieters left Teva Pharmaceutical to join Cipla as head of its European region and global respiratory business. His appointment signalled an intent from Cipla to take advantage of the patent expiries for leading respiratory products.