See over 30% growth in next couple of quarters: Lupin

We will be launching Yasmin today or tomorrow. It will get included from this quarter itself. 

S Ramesh

President, Finance & Planning

Lupin 

Lupin had a good year in the stock market. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, S Ramesh, president - finance & planning of Lupin  says in the first two quarters of the current year, the company has exhibited more than 30 percent growth. "We are fairly confident that we will be able to sustain this in the next couple of quarters and for the foreseeable couple of years as well," he asserts.

The company, he says, has got a very rich pipeline for the US. ". We have got close to 180 filing out there. We have got 45 launches already. We expect to get close to about 100 approvals in the next few quarters," he elaborates.

Also read: Lupin gets US nod for copy of oral contraceptive Yasmin

Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee.

Q: How is the US market looking going into 2013?

A: Pretty good. We have got a very rich pipeline for the US. We have got close to 180 filing out there. We have got 45 launches already. We expect to get close to about 100 approvals in the next few quarters. So, we think, for the next two-three years, in terms of our line-up site, the US does look a very good market for us.

Q: Yasmin, when is the launch date? How large this market is? What kind of potential revenues you could look at from it?

A: Yasmin has got USD 230 million in terms of innovator sales currently. We have got an approval for it. We will be launching it today or tomorrow. It would be good for us. It makes our overall portfolio pretty robust. We have got about 28 filings for the Oral Contraceptive (OC) market in America. We have already launched about five products there. So, to that extent, this is going to be the sixth product. It will help us to actually have a fuller basket of products for the OC therapy area. That's very important from a channel point of view.

Q: It is a USD 275 million market, but there are three other players. What could you garner in terms of market share? What kind of impact could it have in terms of sales or revenues for you?

A: In terms of a track record, we generally get between 25-30 percent in terms of market share. So, we expect to get the same quantum in, so far as this particular drug is concerned. I can't talk about price erosion as yet. Obviously, the entry of competition does destabilise the price. There would be price erosion. How much is it going to impact? I can't actually talk right now.

Q: Given the growth that you are seeing both in US and Japan, are you looking to tweak the guidance you have set out in terms of sales?

A: We don't as a matter of principle talk about guidance for the future. But if you look at track record, we have been going it on 25 percent. In the first two quarters of the current year, we have exhibited more than 30 percent growth. We are fairly confident that we will be able to sustain this in the next couple of quarters and for the foreseeable couple of years as well.

Q: Specific to Japan, what kind of growth do you expect via your other entities?

A: Japan is growing at around 10-12 percent. We have been exceeding the industry growth mark by about 25 percent at least. So, we expect to grow about 14-15 percent in the Japanese market. It is the second largest market in the world where the penetration is particularly low, about 25-26 percent. I was reading an analyst report yesterday, it talks about government's intention to take it to 60 percent in the next three-five years. So, if the penetration rate increases in Japan, the prospects for Lupin also certainly goes up.

Q: What is exactly date of launch for Yasmin?

A: It will actually get included from this quarter itself. We will be launching it this week.