Cipla plans deeper push in domestic market and chronic therapies over next 2–3 years

Cipla Ltd. will sharpen its focus on the domestic market and pursue selective inorganic growth and innovation over the next two to three years, while strengthening its leadership in the respiratory segment, said Achin Gupta, the pharma company’s incoming managing director and global CEO-designate.

“We have a very solid platform and professionally run orgnanisation. What we would look at doing more of or different include deepening our franchise in India,” Gupta told ET when asked about his focus areas.

Gupta, who is set to take charge on April 1, said that while Cipla enjoys leadership in respiratory therapies, the company is also aiming to lead in other high-growth chronic segments such as cardiometabolic diseases and obesity.


“So in respiratory we have leadership, can we create similar leadership in other conditions such as cardiometabolic obesity, which are going to see more incidents because of aging lifestyle,” Gupta said. “We have a lot of efforts going into that both from inhouse as well as through multiple ways of partnering.”

According to Gupta, a key near-term focus within cardiometabolic care will be the GLP-1 weight-loss segment, where Cipla has partnered with Eli Lilly to market tirzepatide in India. Late last year, Cipla tied up with the US pharma company to market and distribute a second brand of its breakthrough weight-loss and diabetes drug.

Gupta said Cipla will continue to prioritise tirzepatide for now, while taking a cautious approach to the emerging opportunity in semaglutide branded generics, which is expected to open up after the molecule goes off patent end of March.

“Our current focus remains on tirzepatide in terms of being a best-in-class molecule in terms of dual action – GLP and GIP,” he said. “While we would be able to serve maximum number of patients on that in terms of partnership, we continue to remain open and explore how the semaglutide market shapes up especially at the lower price points once the genericization happens.”

Gupta, said, “We will wait and see. We will play in this segment to the largest extent possible.”

Beyond India, he said Cipla will look to establish global leadership in respiratory by moving beyond plain generics into differentiated and specialty opportunities. “So far we have been working on generics. Going forward, can we look at some differentiated specialty type of opportunities as well in respiratory,” Gupta said.

Inorganic growth, he said, will form the third pillar of the strategy. “Third will be focus on inorganic. We have significant cash reserves which we can deploy towards our strategic goals, and that will help us get deeper presence in differentiated specialty businesses in different markets,” Gupta said.

Another key focus area for Cipla will be innovation. “The whole industry is moving more into innovation. So we will look more at innovation, starting with India and emerging markets, but building capabilities as we go along so that the business is not strong just from a three–five-year window more from a longer-term window as well,” he said.

On GLP-1 economics, Gupta said that in-licensing margins are lower. “Revenue contribution from the GLP1 segment we would expect to be quite meaningful… but we would also keep tracking it independent of the rest of the business because in-licensing margins are lower than the rest of the business margins,” he said, adding that Cipla would seek a balance between in-house growth and partnered innovation to optimise profitability and sustainability.

On Friday, Cipla reported a 57% year-on-year fall in consolidated net profit for the December quarter to Rs 676 crore. It said revenue remained flat at Rs 7,074 crore, impacted largely by a decline in Revlimid (lenalidomide) sales.

The company’s US business posted $167 million revenue during the quarter.



Outgoing managing director Umang Vohra said upcoming launches are expected to cushion the Revlimid decline and support long-term growth.