Mumbai: US President Donald Trump’s executive order to drugmakers to lower medicine prices in the US to levels other countries pay could benefit generics companies, Umang Vohra, CEO of Cipla, said on Tuesday.Trump’s order on Monday may turn the US into a “market where generic drugs will be preferred,” Vohra told analysts in an earnings call after Cipla reported a 30% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its fourth quarter net profit to Rs 1,222 crore.“We do not see that (the executive order) impacting our business at all,” he said.Cipla’s income from operations rose 9% YoY to Rs 6,730 crore in the fourth quarter, while Ebitda was up 17% at Rs 1,538 crore.For the full FY25, the company’s net profit surged 28% to Rs 5,273 crore, income from operations grew 8% to Rs 27,548 crore, and EBITDA was up 14% at Rs 7,128 crore.On its India growth outlook, Vohra said Cipla is looking to do better than the overall pharma market, which is estimated to grow in the range of 8-10%.The company sees huge opportunity in the weight-loss drug space globally but more so in India. It is looking at both in-house and third-party partnerships to capitalise on the first wave of launch of GLP-1 receptor agonists.“GLP-1 is a huge opportunity. The biggest opportunity for us will continue to be the India market where we will launch with the rest of the markets,” Vohra said. “It’s a product that comes once in a while in the pharma cycle and perhaps a product that people are a lot more aware of, much before its launch.”Commenting on Trump’s executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to cut prices, Vohra said Cipla has yet to fully assess its implication, “but as of now, it appears it is targeted largely to branded drugs.”“Generic prices in the US are already significantly comparable to the rest of the world…in some cases lower,” he said.In India, Vohra said Cipla is looking at both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, and emphasised on bringing innovative products into India.The company is aiming to invest about 4-5% of its revenue as capex next year as it focuses on India as a growth market.“It (India) always gives you a good return on capital,” said Ashish Adukia, global chief financial officer at Cipla. “We have invested in people, we are investing on capex and we will also continue to look at small to large M&A opportunities that could come in the form of not just companies but product portfolios, etc, that we may acquire,” he told analysts.Cipla also looks to add to its portfolio in the US and scout for acquisition opportunities in emerging markets and Europe.North America delivered a quarterly revenue of $221 million for Cipla with an all-time high annual revenue of $934 million, supported by continued positive traction in differentiated assets.The company’s board of directors announced a total dividend of Rs 16 per share. This is inclusive of a final dividend of Rs 13 per share, along with a special dividend of Rs 3 per share.
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