Cadila aims to double US biz in 3 years

Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical major Cadila Healthcare Ltd (also known as Zydus Cadila), which draws 40 per cent of its revenues from the US market, aims to double its US base business over the next three years from current $553 million now by launching around 100 products.

It has 197 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) pending for nod in the US market.

A senior official of the company said on the condition of anonymity that Cadila indeed is bullish on its US business, and sees its share rising in the company's overall revenues. "We have a good pipeline for the US market, and now with Moraiya facility coming out of USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration) woes, we expect a steady stream of launches in the US market in the coming quarters. The share of US business in our revenues is around 40 per cent now, and this may rise as the base business grows," he said. As such, the company is aiming to double the base business, analysts said.

At present, Cadila is ranked ninth in the US generics market (based on prescriptions) with a market share of 3.1 per cent. The company's latest investor presentation claimed that it ranked among top three in eight of the top 10 products marketed in the US. It has already commercialised 90 products including generic oral solids and injectables.

Deepak Malik, analyst with broking firm Edelweiss, felt that Cadila's annual US growth rate would be around 26 per cent or so from FY17 to FY19. "This will accelerate top line and bottom line growth to 18 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively," he said.

Sarabjit Kaur Nangra, vice-president, research, pharma, Angel Broking, said that while the domestic market (which now accounts for around 35 per cent of the company's revenues) is likely to clock a 13-14 per cent growth rate, the US market is likely to grow 20-25 per cent.

Moraiya's clearance is likely to play a key role in boosting the US business. The facility accounts for around 60 per cent of Cadila's US sales. It was served a USFDA warning letter in December 2015 and received clearance this June.

The company would be betting on mesalamine-based filings. Cadila has three mesalamine-based filings; generic Asacol, generic Delzicol, and generic Lialda. Of these, it has already bagged approval for generic Lialda (which has sales of $1.14 billion in the US) and a launch is expected next quarter.

A company source said that while Cadila enjoys 180-day exclusivity for generic Lialda, as such there was no other player at the moment that had even a tentative product approval.

Apart from mesalamines, some of the other key products include an anti-hypertensive drug Toprol XL ($400 million market size) and gastrointestinal drug Prevacid ODT ($250 million).