Lupin to raise stake in Australian firm to increase market presence

Drug major Lupin will soon increase its stake in Generic Health Pty Ltd, a major generics drug supplier in Australia, to over 50 per cent in order to corner a major share of the growing Australian market.

In August last year, the company had bought 30 per cent in the Melbourne-headquartered company, which markets generic prescription and over-the-counter products in Australia, for an undisclosed amount.

“The Australian generic drug market is growing and profitability there is very high compared with in other geographies. Our game plan will be to soon buy out Generic Health Ply for a strong footing in that market,” Ramesh Swaminathan, president, finance and planning, Lupin, told Business Standard.

He said Lupin currently followed a low-cost acquisition strategy and investment in Generic Health might not be significantly large. Generic Health, a predominantly marketing company, maintains a partnership model with global generic drug makers and has a marketing tie-up with Lupin. The company sells drugs worth approximately $500 million or Rs 2,150 crore in Australia, according to sources.

The Australian generics drug market is worth A$3 billion or Rs 11,300 crore. The total drug market in Australia is worth A$10 billion (Rs37,800 crore), say sources.

Lupin was one of the first entrants into the Australian market two years ago through a fully owned subsidiary. Its main products include cardiovascular drugs, central nervous system drugs and cephalosporins.

Lupin had acquired four companies in the recent past, which included Hormesan of Germany, 30 per cent stake in Generic Health, Pharma Dynamics of South Africa and Multicare Pharmaceuticals in the Philippines, besides Kyowa of Japan. Except Kyowa, others are marketing outfits, bought to enter new geographies.