Drugmaker Cipla expects its “diversified” business in the US to help sustain its growth in the region, at a time the US administration is holding back funding for a global HIV/AIDS programme, besides looking at higher tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, to strengthen local production.
Umang Vohra, Cipla’s Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer said, the US move on PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) would not impact it, as it was a “sub $5 million” business with low margins. On the new US administration’s possible tariffs on pharmaceuticals, Vohra said, the company had invested about $100 million in setting up two inhaler plants in the US, besides having a large oral solid dosage plant. This “derisked and diversified” approach over the last three years should sustain growth in the US business, he said, speaking to media representatives after the company announced its financial performance for the third quarter (Q3), or three-month period ended December 31, 2024.
The US administration under President Trump is reviewing its funding of overseas programmes (including PEPFAR) and has paused funding it. Separately, the US President has also indicated higher tariffs on items including pharmaceuticals, as it looks to strengthen local production.
The US is a sizeable market for several Indian drugmakers. It is Cipla’s second largest market, after India, accounting for about 27 percent of its revenues in the period under review.
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Cipla clocked its highest quarterly revenue, it said, at ₹7073 crore in Q3FY25, up 7 per cent from the same period last year; and its profit after tax (PAT) in the period under review stood at ₹1,571 crore, up 49 per cent from the previous year.
The company’s US quarterly revenue in the period was flat, at $226 million, supported by traction in differentiated assets, that helped overcome Lanreotide supply shortfall, the company said.
Cipla’s One-India business at ₹3,146 crore, grew 10 per cent over last year. Its research and development spend stood at ₹360 crore or 5.1 per cent of sales, driven by product filings and development efforts, the company said. It had a net cash position of ₹8,947 crore, it added.
