Drug-maker Sun Pharma has discontinued its third-party contract manufacturing from the present financial year, Sun's Chief Executive, Mr Kal Sundaram, told analysts.

It was an old long-term contract, where Sun Pharma manufactured products for a multinational company. The decision to discontinue the alliance was taken when the contract came up for renewal, a company official told Business Line , adding that the decision was taken after evaluating factors such as cost, capacity etc.

Rs 63-cr revenue

Revenue from the discontinued third party contract manufacturing business was Rs 63 crore, the company said.

Mr Dilip Shanghvi, Sun's Chairman and Managing Director, further said that the company had no other “significant” third-party manufacturing in its fold now.

Acquisition

The company is further looking at acquisition opportunities in the US and other emerging markets, sitting as it does on Rs 4,500 crore of cash, he said. With the acquisition of Israeli drug-maker Taro now complete, Sun is now scouting for acquisition opportunities in large emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Russia and China, he said.

Meanwhile, Taro has indicated that it would have an increased spend on research, affecting the company's profitability, he added. Sun said that its net sales (including Taro) for the three months ended June 30, 2011, was Rs 1636 crores, with a net profit of Rs 501 crore.

Also, Sun's other subsidiary in the US, Caraco, has now become a wholly-owned subsidiary. At a meeting in June, shareholders of Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories approved resolutions making Caraco a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharma, the company said. And remediation efforts at the Caraco facility in Detroit and the Sun Pharma facility in New Jersey, following US regulatory warnings, are ongoing, it added.

> jyothi@thehindu.co.in

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