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Sun Pharma open to exploring acquisitions in global specialty portfolio | Company News

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Sun Pharma has net cash position of $2.4 billion at the end of FY24; 6 new specialty products in R&D

Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said the company had a net cash position of $2.4 billion at the end of fiscal 2024
Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said the company had a net cash position of $2.4 billion at the end of fiscal 2024

Sohini Das Bombay

The country’s largest drugmaker by market share, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, said it is open to exploring acquisition opportunities across its global specialty drugs portfolio as it closed fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) with a strong net cash position of $2.4 billion.

In the annual report for 2023-24, Chairman and Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said, “Sun Pharma has a strong net cash position of around $2.4 billion, which allows us to explore inorganic opportunities, including but not limited to strengthening our global specialty portfolio.”

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He added that the company has made several key hires and that the focus has been on improving internal clinical development capabilities as the company builds its clinical organization, globalizes its specialist assets outside the US and deepens its business development capabilities.

Specialized research and development (R&D) spending continued to grow to fuel innovation capabilities, rising to $148 million in fiscal 2024 from $65 million in fiscal 2020. This represented 78 percent of the total increase in R&D spending during the period.

The share of global specializations increased from 7% of consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2019 to 18% in fiscal year 2024. In fiscal year 2024, the company’s R&D expenditures amounted to USD 32 billion or 6.7% of total sales.

“During the year, we filed approximately 250 formulation dossiers globally. In fiscal 2024, the company took steps to improve trial recruitment for our global specialty product candidates, including setting up a clinical organization at Sun and hiring key talent to lead it. Sun Pharma continues to seek external R&D assets to strengthen its pipeline. R&D spend is expected to increase as clinical trials for specialty products gain traction,” said Shanghvi.

Some of the key products in Sun Pharma’s specialist portfolio include Ilumya (psoriasis drug), Winlevi (acne drug), Cequa (ophthalmic drug for dry eye syndrome), Odomzo (locally advanced basal cell carcinoma) and Levulan (keratosis pilaris of the face and scalp).

As part of Sun Pharma’s specialist research and development work, six drugs are currently undergoing clinical trials.

A New Drug Application (NDA) for deuruxolitinib has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe alopecia areata in fiscal year 2024. The FDA has assigned the company’s application a July 2024 filing date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). Open-label extension studies for deuruxolitinib are ongoing. Its partner product Nidlegy is expected to be submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for locally advanced fully resectable melanoma in H1CY24. It is currently being studied in Phase 2 studies for locally advanced melanoma and other nonmelanoma skin cancers. The currently marketed drug Ilumya is undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials for an additional indication in psoriatic arthritis. Pivotal data from the studies are expected in H2CY25. Another MM-II drug has completed a Phase 2B study as a potential treatment for knee pain in patients with symptomatic knee OA. Phase 3 for the candidate is expected to begin in H1CY25.

SCD-044 is in Phase 2 clinical development as a potential oral treatment for atopic dermatitis and moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Core data for the atopic dermatitis indication are expected to be available during H2CY24. Core data for the psoriasis indication are expected to be available during H1CY25.

The highly anticipated GLP-1R (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor) agonist has completed Phase 1 clinical trials. Early clinical data have shown significant weight loss in single and multiple ascending dose studies. The drug was well tolerated and we expect to begin enrolling patients in Phase 2 studies during H2CY24.