Lupin on the look out for acquisitions in Japan

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries entry into the Japanese market seems to have alerted Lupin which has begun to look around for acquisitions in the Japanese pharma world. Estimated at US $ 73 billion the Japanese drug market is considered to be no 2 in the world.

According to India Infoline News Service Japan being extremely brand conscious when it comes to drugs, makes the job tougher for Lupin."In Japan, we would like to double our base. We cannot grow organically, so my goal is to double the base of Japan in sales," says Head of Lupin's Asia-Pacific business, Fabrice Ergos. "We cannot expect growth from our own portfolio, you know it is crude, plus to grow ourselves 10-12%, but we have to make a bold movement," he told the news agency.

Lupin has been facing a setback in the US due to regulatory issues, however, business in Japan has grown by 9% in the last quarter, states the agency. In February this year, Lupin had announced an investment of INR 100 crore in its Japanese plant. While Sun Pharma, now a strong contender in the Japanese pharma market with its 14 brand Novartis purchase for US $ 293 million will be teaming up with a local partner to sell its recently acquired purchases, under its own brand name in the country.