Right Prescription

Ipca Laboratories Ltd. was founded in 1949. The present management took over the company in 1975. It has a 1.5 per cent share of the Indian pharmaceutical market and is the country's 27th largest pharmaceutical company. The company has a strong presence in both the export and the domestic market. In the domestic market it sells branded generics. Formulations contribute around 83 per cent of domestic sales (the other category is active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs). Within India Ipca Lab is the leader in antimalarials and rheumatoid arthritis. Ipca Lab exports to about 110 countries across the globe. In FY10 exports accounted for 52 per cent of its total revenues. Between FY08 and FY10 exports grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.6 per cent. Abroad the company sells branded generics in semi-regulated markets such as the CIS countries, Africa (Kenya, Sudan and Nigeria) and Sri Lanka. In the more developed markets such as Europe (mainly UK) and US, Australasia and South Africa it sells unbranded generics. Strengths Backward integration. The company manufactures the APIs for most of the therapeutic areas that it is present in. “This will enable it to both garner a larger market share and improve its margins,” says Vrijesh Kasera, senior research analyst, Anagram Capital. Own field force. In the semi-regulated markets, it has its own field force of about 500. In the domestic market the company has a field fo

This article was originally published on April 11, 2011.