Dabur targeting US, UK oncology market

Indian oncology drug manufacturer Dabur Pharma expects revenues from the US, which accounts for some 50% of the world cancer drug market, and the UK to contribute about half its total turnover within three to five years. Dabur recently obtained Food and Drug Administration approval to market two drugs in the USA, and is planning to introduce a number of products in Europe in the near future, according to the company's chief executive, Ajay Vij.

He added in an interview: "Dabur will introduce about 25 new drugs in the USA within three to five years, and have also filed applications for seven products in the UK and plan to introduce many other products from our pipeline. In Europe, the company will focus on six countries, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Poland which together constitute about 65% of the total European market. At present, a major part of the company's total revenue of about 830.0 million rupees ($20.0 million) also comes from overseas markets in Southeast Asia, Far East, Latin America and CIS [Comonwealth of Independent States] countries. Dabur's manufacturing facility in the UK is now supplying products to the USA and is planning to introduce more products from the facility in Europe later this fiscal [year], after it gets the mandatory approval."

Mr Vij later added: "there are two key reasons why the company expects to generate very significant revenue from the US and European markets. First, patents on oncology drugs worth $5.0-$10.0 billion expire in the next five to seven years. Second, Dabur is the market leader in the oncology segment in India, Malaysia and Thailand where the company competes with global pharma companies, who would also be our competitors in the USA and Europe. The company will introduce the generic drugs on the night the patent of the patented drugs expire and hopefully become the market leader in the generic market. Since oncology is a niche segment our specialized team will independently market the products and we are not seeking any alliance or tie up either in the USA or Europe."