Lupin shares fall 7% as key drug sold in US market now faces more competition

Shares of pharmaceutical major Lupin dropped up to 7% during the intraday trading on Thursday, after the American regulators granted clearance for the sale of Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Aerosol to one of the company’s competitors.

Albuterol, which is used in cases of wheezing, shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing, is the second highest contributor of revenue for Lupin from the US market.

In the trading session today, Lupin shares opened in the red. The stock plunged to an intraday low of ₹1,591.15 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), down 7.2% as against the previous day’s close.

At 11:59 am, Lupin’s shares partially recovered to trade 4.65% lower at ₹1,636 apiece.

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Lupin rival Amphastar gets nod for Albuterol

The United States Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) on Wednesday granted its approval to Amphastar, a US-based drugmaker, to manufacture and sell Albuterol.

This is expected to hit the revenues of existing sellers, including Lupin and Cipla, as the new entrant may sell the drug at 10-25% lower than the prevalent rate to gain market share, analysts said.

The cumulative value of branded and generic Albuterol tablet sales in the US market amounted to $1.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, according to health information technology firm IQVIA.

Lupin US sales

As per the results for the March 2024 quarter released by Lupin recently, its total US sales during the period amounted to $209 million, higher as compared to $175 million in the December 2023 quarter.

In the entire fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, Lupin’s US sales stood at $815 million, marking a jump from $632 million in FY23.