The Hindu Business Line : Ranbaxy to retain focus on domestic market

RANBAXY Laboratories Ltd may be spreading its wings in the international markets, but the focus on the Indian markets will continue to remain with the launch of over 20 products this year.

According to Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh, President-Pharmaceuticals, Ranbaxy, "Even as we are expanding our international operations, we will continue to focus on the domestic market. Like last year, this year too we will launch several products in the Indian market."

These products would be mainly generic drugs and would be in the therapeutic segments of central nervous system, cardio-vascular, gastro-enteritis, and orthopaedics.

The AC Nielsen-ORG Marg figures for January indicated that Ranbaxy recorded a negative growth rate of eight per cent in January 2004 compared to December 2003. Sales stood at Rs 71 crore in January compared to Rs 77 crore registered in December. On a year-on-year basis, the company registered a meagre two per cent growth.

Mr Singh, however, said that the market research agency has been using a different methodology for arriving at numbers and the company has been meeting its internal targets. Like last year, this year too, the company's growth rates would outperform the overall industry growth rates.

For the quarter ended December 2003, Ranbaxy outperformed the market with a growth rate of 9.6 per cent compared to the pharmaceutical industry's growth rate of 7.9 per cent. The company would also be focusing on the over-the-counter segment in a big way this year. Early this year, it entered the herbals segment with the launch of Olesan Oil for cold, Olesan cough syrup for adults and children and Eat Ease, an appetite enhancer for children. "We will strengthen our OTC portfolio and drugs which go off-patent could be launched in this segment as well," Mr Singh added.

Even as India continues to be important to the company, its global initiatives are on a fast track. Apart from the US where it has already made its presence felt, Ranbaxy will enter new markets of Mexico and strengthen its presence in Russia and other European markets. The setting up of a Spanish subsidiary recently had been one such initiative.

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