Pharma major Eli Lilly has lined up a slew of initiatives in a bid to position itself as the top player in the anti-diabetes space.
This includes two new products in the next one year, a $30-million global awareness project and more marketing-distribution partnership with Indian pharma companies to increase its reach.
As part of the growth plan, the company is also open to acquiring local brands or products in the diabetes segment if it fits in with its strategy.
2-pronged strategy
Speaking to
“We are looking at a two-pronged strategy – enhancing our product portfolio and increasing our reach through partnerships and alliances.”
The company gets over 60 per cent of its revenues in India from anti-diabetes products, which is expected to increase to 70 per cent in two years' time. The drug company has been growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent, doubling its revenues over the past five years.
Lilly India has set an aggressive target of tripling the revenues over the next five years. “We are doing a number of things to enhance our presence here. The recent promotion and distribution partnership with Lupin is an example which has helped us reach 45,000 physicians compared to 23,000 earlier.
“Also, Lilly is aiming to expand its reach from 425 towns to about 1,300,” Mr Gupta said, adding that the company is open to more such partnerships if it made business sense.
On the product side, the drug company is currently only in the injectable segment and wants to get into the oral space. “Clearly, we want an entire range of anti-diabetes products” Mr Gupta said.
On M&A
When asked if Lilly is open to mergers and acquisitions, Mr Gupta said that the company was open to acquiring a specific product or brand in India that would enhance its portfolio.
“Lilly as a company is betting primarily on innovation and that's why we continue to plough back 20 per cent of our revenues in R&D,” he said.
Lilly has also set up a new team of diabetes educators in India in a bid to create awareness about diabetes management among patients. At present there are about 35 people on this team which will be ramped up to 100.
“We are going to get into partnerships with hospitals wherein our team can deploy various education tools to educate patients on an ongoing basis,” Mr Gupta said. On Tuesday, the company announced a $30 million commitment over five years to fight the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in developing nations. Called the Lilly NCD Partnership, it will focus on creating awareness about diabetes in India and three other countries.