Spotlight On... India's Lupin remains keen on emerging markets, M&A; Shionogi eyes U.S., Japan naldemedine applications; China at work on Zika; and more

Mumbai-based drugmaker Lupin Pharmaceuticals is not going to let currency fluctuations stand in the way of its growth plans for emerging markets and remains committed to acquiring specialty products for growth in the future, according to a report in the Business Standard. The company's managing director, Nilesh Gupta, said in the report that Lupin is expanding in the Americas with its acquisition of Medquimica in Brazil last year and is expanding its Mexican business. The company said growth in Latin America and places like the Philippines added 6.8% to its bottom line and South Africa was also contributing 3%. Lupin and Merck Serono entered in a JV in 2014 to work in emerging markets and Gupta said in the report the company would also rely on "acquisitions of both products and companies in the specialty product segment" to hit $5 billion in revenue by 2018. Lupin this week announced that as part of its $850 million acquisition of Gavis in the United States, the company will offload two generic drugs and the acquisition will help it achieve "double-digit growth" in the U.S., Gupta said in the report. He added that Lupin is also expanding into Japan with the addition of a plant there and is setting up another plant in Goa, India, to work directly with the Japanese market. Report

> Osaka-based Shionogi is on track to submit regulatory applications this quarter in the U.S. and Japan for naldemedine (S-297995) to treat opioid-induced constipation. Release

> Scientists in China said they have decoded the genomic sequence of the Zika virus and said the country's first case of the virus was imported from a Chinese visitor to Venezuela who returned home in early February. Report

> China will launch a new round of anti-graft inspections this year and is targeting 32 entities and four provinces and which will include the China Food and Drug Administration. Report

> South Korea needs to provide more support such as tax breaks to domestic drug and biotech companies and programs to build in-country demand, industry executives said at a Ministry of Food and Drug Safety meeting last week. Report

> China FDA has released the 2015 approved catalogue of marketing notices for Chinese medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological drugs. Release (Chinese language)

> Leading drug companies in India are banding together to tackle worker attitudes to accuracy and ethics as part of an effort to tackle a stream of critical reviews of manufacturing operations from the U.S. FDA. Report

> India's Strides Shasun said GMS Pharma (Singapore) has made the first investment of $8.49 million in its Stelis Biopharma unit as part of a planned $21.9 million total investment. Report

> Bengaluru-based MedGenome said it has acquired the assets and the Foster City, California lab of Lifecode Health to expand its services to U.S.-based biotech and pharmaceutical makers. Financial details were not disclosed. Release