NEW DELHI: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd invested around Rs 2,000 crore in research and development (R&D) in the last financial year (2019-20).
In his message to the shareholders, in the company's Annual Report, Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said that R&D is imperative for any pharmaceutical company's future and its focus is to continue investing in R&D to develop differentiated generics and innovative specialty products.
"Our global generic business requires a constant flow of new products, and hence R&D capabilities to develop such products and meet the individual requirements of each market are very important," he said.
He also noted that R&D is also vital for strengthening the company's global specialty pipeline.
"It is a key determinant of the future growth and profitability of the specialty initiative. We expect to continue to invest in specialty R&D in the coming years as we progress further in building the specialty business," Shanghvi said. "Our R&D investments for the year were approximately Rs 20 billion. We continue to be disciplined in identifying future R&D projects for the US generics market and the focus is on developing differentiated generics. Investments for developing the long-term specialty pipeline are expected to continue."
The MD also said that Sun Pharmaceutical's strategy of developing the specialty business as an additional growth engine has started delivering, with a gradual ramp-up in specialty revenues. The momentum is likely to continue over the next few years although the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns may throw up some uncertainties in the near-term, he added. (IANS)