Detailed SWOT Analysis of Lupin – An Indian Multinational Pharmaceutical Company

Quick Stats on Lupin

Founder	Desh Bandhu Gupta
Year Founded	1968
Origin	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
No. of Employees	20,000+
Company Type	Public
Market Cap	Rs.44,057 Crore (2021)
Annual Revenue	US$2.1 Billion (2020)
Net Income/ Profit	US$36 Million (2020)

 

Products by Lupin

• Pharmaceuticals
• Generic drugs
• Over-the-counter drugs
• Vaccines
• Diagnostics
• Contact lenses
• Animal health

Competitors of Lupin

Following are the close competitors of Lupin Ltd.

• Sun Pharma 
• Divis Labs
• Cipla
• Dr Reddy’s Labs
• Ranbaxy

Now, let’s proceed to the SWOT analysis of Lupin Ltd.

SWOT Analysis of Lupin

SWOT stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which is an analytical technique used for assessing your business in the four aspects. SWOT analysis is simple to analyse and determine what is best for the company at present as well as to formulate a successful strategy for the future. Accordingly, the SWOT analysis of Lupin is carried out.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Lupin, refer to the infographics image below.

Let’s first start by analyzing the strength of Lupin from the SWOT analysis of Lupin.

Strengths of Lupin

Strengths are defined as what each business does or has best in itself. Following are the strengths of Lupin Ltd.

• Well-built Brand Portfolio: Over the years, Lupin has funded in forming a strong brand portfolio to place its footprints across the globe in 100+ countries. Today, Lupin is successfully delivering affordable and quality healthcare to address evolving patient needs which makes them the strongest generic pharma company in the world.
• Research & Innovation: With more than 7 research & development centres across the globe, Lupin is always ahead of the curve to develop a wide range of products in both branded and generic formulations.
• Digital Transformation: Lupin is working broadly to enter the digital healthcare space in India by the name of Lupin Digital Health Ltd which will focus mainly to provide a digital health consultation platform for doctors and patients. Entering in digital space can become Lupin’s one of strength.

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• Beyond Medicines: Lupin works in more than 4,500 villages to ensure sustainable development of people who are underprivileged and live in marginalised sections of society. Lupin’s aim is to help them with the necessary infrastructure and a balanced ecological base.
• Ahead in Acquisitions: Lupin has completed a sequence of acquisitions in history in which the most important one was of the engraved product portfolio from Shionogi in Japan. Further acquisitions include Medquimica, Temmler and Gavis have also enabled the firm to broaden its portfolio of drugs.
• Focus on Strategy: Lupin was established with the ambition of producing medicines available to people at reasonable prices and still the company continues to work on its vision. 

Weaknesses of Lupin

Weaknesses refer to the area where the company or the brand needs some improvement. Weaknesses of Lupin Ltd. are as follows:

• Highly Dependent on US Market: Lupin ltd. is highly dependent on the US with more than 70% of its products revenue coming from the US. 
• Compliance to Principles: The firm functions in such a sector in which it has to function beneath specific regulations and limitations which can be a difficult and expensive matter for Lupin. There is also an added hazard of dealing with illegal compositions.
• Employee Overheads: Lupin is a labour-intensive business because pharma is a research-intensive domain. It contains highly skilled experts and handling them is not an easy chore.
• Weak in Anticipating Demand: In comparison to its competitors, it is not particularly effective at anticipating product demand, resulting in a greater percentage of missed chances. Such as the company was working on TB research where almost every nation already eliminated the disease via mass vaccination campaigns.
• Income Instability: Lupin is facing a surge in decreasing net income according to the 2020 financial report. However, the firm’s revenue is increasing compared to last year. 

Opportunities for Lupin

Opportunities refer to the factors in the environment that the company or the brand recognises and uses can lead to a greater marketing strength. Opportunities for Lupin Ltd. are as follows:

• Policy Reform:  According to some experts and reviews, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA Act) passed by the US government will open a new set of reforms that will favour the pharma companies dealing with generic drugs. If this news is true, it will benefit  Lupin Ltd. to a big extent.
• New Technologies: Lupin may use the new technologies to implement a differentiated pricing approach in the new market. It will allow the company to keep its current consumers by providing excellent service while also attracting new customers through various value-oriented offers.
• Patient-driven Health Care: The trends are indicating more patient-centric treatment with the growth in demand for wearable biometric devices and telemedicine. This will increase the patient’s involvement level which will benefit the business if properly researched.
• The Utilisation of Global Brand Position: Over the years, Lupin Ltd. has gained a global market stand or goodwill worldwide. This can help the company by utilisation of the global brand positioning and expanding it towards the other potential markets.
• New Markets as a Result of Government Agreement: Lupin has been given the chance to join a new emerging market as a result of the adoption of a new technological standard and a government free trade agreement.

Threats to Lupin

Threats refer to those factors in the environment that are inevitable and which can affect the company or the brand adversely. Threats to Lupin Ltd. are

• Tough Competition: With fewer barriers to entering the pharmaceutical business, competition has grown to much extent. The company faces tough competition from companies like Ranbaxy and Cipla.
• Changes According to Government Policy: With constantly changing government rules and regulations, companies have to readjust the rules and norms as well as drug compositions. This creates financial challenges for the company. 
• Limited Target Markets: Alone, the US consumes 84% of the company’s drugs. If there’s a decline or a sudden drop in the US’s drug market due to some reason, it will result in a huge loss to the company.
• High Prices: Pharmaceutical companies require various chemical compositions which can result in high priced drugs. This can limit the expansion in various Asian and African countries with low per capita income.
• Counterfeit Drugs: Lupin’s product is also vulnerable to counterfeit and low-quality product imitation, particularly in emerging and low-income regions.

This ends our detailed SWOT analysis of Lupin. Let us conclude our learning below.