Lupin buys 60% in S African generic co

MUMBAI: Lupin has acquired 60% stake in Pharma Dynamics, a South African generic marketing firm, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition���fifth in 12 months���gives Lupin a foothold into the South African market.

���We are looking at creating strong footholds in various markets to register sales of $1 billion by the year end. This year we have allocated Rs 250 crore for R&D and we expect our growth to be more than 40%,��� Lupin chairman D B Gupta said.

Pharma Dynamics is the sixth-largest generic player in South Africa. It recorded sales of Rand 118 million (nearly $15 million) for the year ended February 2008. It had an EBITA of over 20%.



It sells tuberculosis products in South Africa through a partnership with Aspen and concentrates more on branded generics. The pharmaceutical market in South Africa is estimated to be $2.5 billion, of which the generics segment contributes $700-800 million. ���We plan to capture 50-60% of the generics market in the next few years,��� Lupin MD Kamal Sharma said.

Lupin also plans to use Pharma Dynamics to expand sales to other African nations at a later stage. Lupin is looking at expanding its presence in the middle east, Japan, eastern Europe and North America.