Natco Pharma looks to improve domestic revenues with more product launches

Turning its focus again to the domestic market, Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma Limited said in the near term it was planning to launch 8-10 branded generic products in India

Domestic market has contributed a third of Natco Pharma's revenues of Rs 22 billion in 2017-18, though slipped in sales for the first time.

Last year the company had launched 7 products, majority of them in Oncology space in which the company claims to have a market leading presence with a total portfolio of 30 products in India. Yet, domestic formulations' revenues declined 18 per cent to Rs 7.2 billion as compared to Rs 8.8 billion in the previous year.

In revenue growth, and more particularly in profit growth, the company has done well in the past 2-3 years largely helped by the US launches such as multiple sclerosis drug g-Copaxone. The company's revenues had doubled in three years from a level of Rs 1.9 billion in 2015-16 and its net profit increased three-fold to Rs 9.69 billion during the same period.

While the company is looking at the US opportunities in limited competition and complex generics space for a faster growth, the potential contribution from domestic market has become crucial in the near term as the first half earnings point to a flatfish revenue growth for full year. By launching more products in the domestic market the company looks to regain the revenue growth in India.

The company says that while maintaining its leadership position in Oncology and Hepatitis-C segment, it would intensify focus on CnD (cardiovascular and diabetes) pipeline for niche products in the domestic market. It had entered the CnD division with the launch of anticoagulant Argatroban and Dabigatran drugs last year.