Piramal Healthcare, which sold its domestic formulations business to US drugmaker Abbott for R17,000 crore in May, will aggressively invest in the over-the-counter (OTC) formulations business, and expects to launch 5-7 brand extensions by the year end. The growth strategy includes acquisition of suitable brands or products, apart from organic growth.
“We will grow our existing brands organically by investing much more than we did in the past, and also see if there are more opportunities in the market (for acquiring brands). If there is a right fit then we will look at that,” said Kedar Rajadnye, vice president, OTC division, PiramalHealthcare. The company’s OTC segment has brands such as Saridon, Lacto-calamine, I-Pill and Supractive in its portfolio.
The target will be brands that bring synergy in the portfolio of the company. “We will acquire the brand or product that has synergy within the portfolio,” said Rajadnye. Piramal Healthcare acquired the I-Pill brand from Cipla recently to enter the emergency contraceptive market. The company expects growth of more than 30 per cent in the revenue from its OTC business in 2010-11.
Its OTC business, which has seven brands and their 30 extensions, saw revenues of around R125 crore in 2009-10, and has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 30 per cent in the last three years. “We intend to grow by more than 30 per cent in the current fiscal.”
{{/usCountry}}Its OTC business, which has seven brands and their 30 extensions, saw revenues of around R125 crore in 2009-10, and has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 30 per cent in the last three years. “We intend to grow by more than 30 per cent in the current fiscal.”
{{/usCountry}}“The growth has to be more than earlier because we will be investing much more aggressively than before in this business,” said Rajadnye.