Mumbai: sun pharmaIndia’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing company, License And acquisition To expand this Special BusinessA senior company official said.

,M&A – We have always tried to be very prudent; considering ways in which we can use licensing or acquisitions to fill gaps in our portfolio and achieve our strategic goals,” said Abhay Gandhi, CEO-North America Business. sun pharma,

“Of course, with approximately $2.4 billion in cash on hand, including Taro, we can also do medium to large-sized transactions,” Gandhi said.

He said Sun Pharma has been making a conscious effort over the last few years to develop a pipeline of products domestically and “going forward it will be a combination of both (M&A and internal growth,

As of March 31, at a consolidated level, Sun Pharma has net cash of $2.4 billion, of which Taro Pharmaceutical Industries’ Cash is $1.3 billion and debt is zero.

Taro’s impending delisting and merger with Sun Pharma will help the Mumbai-based drugmaker utilise Taro’s cash going forward. business growth,

Sun Pharma holds 78.48 per cent stake in NYSE-listed Taro. make acquisitions The remaining 21.52 percent stake will be sold for Rs 2,891.7 crore.

Special Drugs These drugs provide targeted therapy for serious, chronic and rare diseases and are often based on innovation such as new delivery formulations such as patches, inhalers and topicals or a new combination or for a new disease indication or improved safety profile, so they enjoy some protection by patents and are also difficult to imitate, ensuring limited competition and better margins for drug manufacturers.

For instance, Sun Pharma last year paid an upfront sum of Rs 4,600 crore to buy US-based Concert Pharma, which gave it rights to its lead candidate called duruxolitinib, which is used to treat adults suffering from moderate to severe alopecia areata that causes baldness. Currently, there are limited treatment options available for this disease.

But unlike generic drugs, specialty drugs require a lot of investment to develop and commercialize, and profits depend on many factors. Companies must invest significant time and money in clinical development, regulatory filings, brand building, front-end distribution, ensuring payer coverage, and growing a sales force to motivate doctors to write more prescriptions.

Since special medicines are not revolutionary inventions, there is always a threat of them being imitated.

Over the years, Sun Pharma has developed its niche business through a number of licensing deals and acquisitions.

Sun Pharma’s global specialty business, with the majority of sales coming from the US, crossed the $1 billion sales mark in FY24.

Global specialty sales contributed nearly 18 per cent to Sun Pharma’s revenue and grew 19% to $1.04 billion in FY24.

Of Sun Pharma’s specialty portfolio, Ilumya (tildrakizumab), used to treat people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, alone recorded sales of $580 million in FY24, growing 21.7 per cent YoY.