Lupin Buys 21 Generic Brands From Shionogi In Japanese Market

Drug maker Lupin Ltd is making strides again in the otherwise difficult generic pharmaceutical market in Japan. The company, which already one of the largest generic player in Japan after it made a couple of strategic company acquisitions including Kyowa Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd and I’rom Pharmaceuticals in the recent past, has now signed a transaction to acquire some 21 pharmaceutical brands from Shionogi and Co. Ltd in Japan. The transaction value is around Japanese Yen 15.4 billion (approximately $150 million)

Lupin said on Tuesday (2 August) that its Japanese subsidiary Kyowa has entered into a strategic asset purchase agreement with Shionogi to acquire 21 long-listed products from the Japanese pharma major, effective December 1, 2016. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory approvals including the transfer of marketing authorization of the products to Kyowa.

Japan, which is predominantly a branded or patent protected drugs market, has been a difficult place for Indian generic drug makers to enter as the regulatory process for pharmaceutical products, especially generic products, in that market is very stringent there and many large Indian companies have failed making a significant presence there so far.

Shiongi’s decision to divest these brands comes on the back of its vision to grow globally as a drug discovery-based pharmaceutical company. Shionogi is focusing its resources on its core therapeutic and marketing areas, while continuing to create innovative medicines to support future growth and to strengthen its business operations, the Japanese company said.

“This acquisition marks Lupin’s foray into the Japanese Branded market in-line with our aspirations to build and strengthen our specialty business globally,” said Nilesh Gupta, managing director of Lupin, while commenting on the acquisition.

“The new Branded product portfolio has a strong fit with Lupin’s Kyowa business, as it adds depth and reach to its current CNS portfolio and other therapy areas,” Gupta added.

Lupin’s Japanese subsidiary Kyowa is amongst the top 10 generic companies in Japan and a market leader in neurology space. With this acquisition, Kyowa will rank 6th amongst generic companies in Japan.

The 21 products involved in the latest deal cover therapy areas such as central nervous system (CNS), oncology, cardiovascular and anti-infectives. These 21 products had sales of JPY 9, 400 million ($ 90 million) collectively.

According to Lupin president (Asia Pacific and Japan) Fabrice Egros, Japan is a very important market for the group and the acquisition strongly supports its future growth plans. “The acquired brands have robust synergies with Kyowa’s existing portfolio which will enable Lupin to build a wide customer base across the key therapies,” he said.

“In the Japanese domestic prescription pharmaceutical market, the core mission of drug discovery-based pharmaceutical companies, such as Shionogi, is to create high-quality new drugs and to make them available to patients,” says Isao Teshirogi, president and CEO of Shionogi.