Ranbaxy, India's No 1 drug maker by sales, would continue to push its key generics business, but planned to diversify into the specialty segment in the medium-term and new drug research in the long-term, the company's managing director said.
Specialty products are old drugs tailored to new conditions or medicines with innovative delivery mechanisms.
"We will step up our R&D investment, which was six per cent of global revenue in 2002. We see it going up to nine to 10 per cent of global revenue," D S Brar told a gathering of analysts, while outlining the firm's strategy for the next five years.
Ranbaxy's global sales in 2002 stood at $789 million, with the United States accounting for 38 per cent.
Brar said the company aims to increase this share to 50 per cent by continuing to file abbreviated new drug applications in the US.
The company would also try to get "first-to-file" status for many of the drugs, which would give it six months of marketing exclusivity if it successfully challenges the innovator's patent, said Rashmi Barabhiya, Ranbaxy's head of research.
Ranbaxy has filed 95 ANDAs in the US so far, including 23 in 2002. It has received 37 approvals and 37 more are pending, officials said.
The New Delhi-based firm ranks 34th in terms of the number of US prescriptions in which its drugs appear, filing almost as many as Roche or Andrx.
Ranbaxy's generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Ceftin antibiotic clocked US sales of over $115 million after it was launched last year.
It also launched a generic version of the drug giant's blockbuster antibiotic Augmentin in the US a few days ago.
The Indian company plans to launch a generic of Roche's anti-acne drug Accutane in the current quarter, during which it also expects regulatory approvals for a generic form of GlaxoSmithKline's Amoxycillin Dispersible.
Ranbaxy's shares closed up 0.76 per cent at Rs 650.20 at the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday, while the benchmark exchange index closed up 0.37 per cent.
