Singapore: In a bid to expand its product portfolio, India's fourth largest domestic drug maker (in terms of revenue) is planning some major acquisitions.

The company has said in a news statement that it plans to enter new geographies and expand its portfolio simultaneously. Lupin is currently said to be scouting for companies in Japan, where it has established a presence in the complex injectable space.

"We have identified a few growth areas. One of them is to have presence in markets such as Russia, China, Korea, Turkey and Brazil," Mr Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Lupin said in the statement.

The company entered Mexico recently through an acquisition and is said to be trying to build a presence in Brazil for 5-7 years now.

"The Latin American market is a profitable market, much bigger in size than the Indian market and is growing faster than India. On long-term perspective, it is important for us to be in markets like these," Mr Gupta pointed out.

Further, the company revealed that a strategic move that they are contemplating is acquisition of certain Indian companies too. This, they added would help them enter newer regions and therapeutic areas.

"In India, we would look at a regional player that has a presence in geographies where we are not strong. Also, we are not present in areas such as cancer, dermatology, and have limited presence in injectable space. All these can be looked into," he added.

The company asserted again that it is aiming at filling gaps in technology and therapies, as well as biosimilars and drug discovery. Currently, the company is working towards developing a product portfolio in inhalation, complex injectables and dermatology.

"The priority of the company is to acquire brands in the US. We had faced some real challenges in the US in terms of products portfolio. While we are strong on the generics side, we actually saw a decline on the branded side. So the idea is to do it through acquisition in near term, but in the longer term, we will do it through our own products," he said.

Last year, the company acquired Netherlands-based injectable company Nanomi BV to expand into patented products.

"It is only last two years that we have seriously started looking at injectables. Though Nanomi BV is a small company, it brings us the right technology. We are also putting together the rest of the portfolio for injectables. It will take at least 3-4 years to make a dent into the space," Mr Gupta said.