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Lupin Expands Branded Play
Tuesday 09/29/2009 4:43 PM ET - Pr Newswire
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As of 3:42 PM ET 9/29/09
Pharmaceutical Major, Lupin Ltd. announced today the acquisition of US rights for Antara(R) (Fenofibrate Capsules 43 mg and 130 mg). Lupin acquired the product from Oscient Pharmaceuticals on September 25, 2009, under the procedures of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Antara recorded net sales of US $ 70 million for 2008 (Source: IMS Dec 2008). Lupin paid $ 38.61 million for the product and related assets inclusive of inventory.
Lupin had previously filed an ANDA for Fenofibrate Capsules 43 mg and 130 mg. On September 21, 2009, prior to the acquisition of Antara(R), Lupin sold its ANDA to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. Lupin also settled and resolved the pending litigation regarding the ANDA product.
Prior to the acquisition, Antara(R) was marketed by Oscient Pharmaceuticals. Antara(R) has a strong brand equity with primary care physicians treating patients for high LDL-C, Total-C, triglycerides, Apo-B and low HDL-C. The Fenofibrate products market is $ 1.9 Billion for the last 12 months. Antara(R) has 4.5% share of this market and grew 20 % in revenue this past year. Antara(R) is prescribed for adjunct treatment of hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) and hyper-triglyceridemia (high triglycerides) in combination with diet.
The Antara acquisition enables Lupin to enter the primary care market with a three product portfolio. Lupin's Suprax Tabs and Allernaze have strong potential in primary care. Lupin will be more than doubling its sales force size in the next 12 months to reach the key targets for the three products.
"We are very excited with our 2nd NDA acquisition within a span of 4 months. The Antara(R) acquisition demonstrates Lupin's success in, and commitment to building its brand franchise and equity in the US. It underlines Lupin's differentiated strategy for the US market. Antara(R) is a step forward that will help us strengthen and grow our brand business. Since Antara(R) is a previously approved, commercial product, our sales and marketing efforts will commence immediately and we are optimistic of it contributing positively to our topline and bottomline in the coming quarters and years," said Vinita Gupta, Group President & CEO, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc
About Lupin
Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Lupin Limited is an innovation led transnational pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic and branded formulations and APIs for the developed and developing markets of the world. The Company today has significant market share in key markets in the Cardiovasculars (prils and statins), Diabetology, Asthma, Pediatrics, CNS, GI, Anti-Infectives and NSAIDs therapy segments, not to mention global leadership positions in the Anti-TB and Cephalosporins. The Company's R&D endeavors have resulted in significant progress in its NCE program. The Company's foray into Advanced Drug Delivery Systems has resulted in the development of platform technologies that are being used to develop value-added generic pharmaceuticals.
Our Drugs and products reach over 70 countries in the world. Today, Lupin has the unique distinction of being the fastest growing top 10 Generics player in the two largest pharmaceutical markets of the world -- The U.S. (ranked 9th by prescriptions & growing at 92 %) and Japan (ranked 7th and growing at 23%). The company is also the fastest growing, top 5 pharmaceutical player in India (ORG IMS - March 2009) and the fastest growing Generic player in South Africa (ranked 6th and growing at over 30 % YoY - IMS)
For the financial year ended March 2009, Lupin's Consolidated Revenues and Profit after Tax were Rs. 39,145 million and Rs. 5015 million respectively.
