Japan's largest drug maker Takeda plans India foray

Japan's largest drug maker Takeda Pharmaceuticals is looking to enter India for which the firm has started a study of the market, that has been witnessing the high growth over the last few years.

"We are studying the possibility of entering into the Indian market and till now nothing has been finalised yet," Takeda Pharmaceuticals Spokesperson told PTI from Tokyo over telephone.

Another Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo last year acquired majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories for over 22,000 crore.

Takeda said it is exploring all possibilities and has recently hired a US-based executive Shankar Suryanarayan to conduct research on the possibility of entering into the domestic market.

When asked whether the Japanese company is looking for acquisitions to enter the Indian market, he declined to comment saying, "Nothing has been finalised yet."

Takeda currently doesn't have the generic drug in its portfolio and is under pressure with Japanese government prefering non-branded products. Besides, Takeda's best selling anti-diabetic anti-diabetic medicine Actos will lose patent protection in 2011.

India is emerging as one of the top destinations for global pharmaceutical firms as the country's Rs 55,000 crore market offers lot of opportunities specialty in the generic segment. Domestic drug makers like Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Ranbaxy Laboratories are known for their ability to produce quality generic drugs at affordable prices.

As per official estimates the total domestic market for pharmaceutical products is over Rs 55,000 crore, which is growing at a high rate of 20 per cent.