Damayanti Kerai

Damayanti Kerai asked about the sustainability of the strong growth numbers in the India business and whether the December quarter benefited from any spillover from the prior quarter's GST disruption. She also sought clarification on Semaglutide pricing expectations in key markets, including Canada, given increasing competition.

Answer

CEO Erez Israeli and CFO M V Narasimham confirmed the India business growth is sustainable in the 15%-19% range, with no significant spillover from GST disruption. For Semaglutide, Erez Israeli stated that pricing expectations have not changed significantly, anticipating competitive markets over time, with initial healthier prices for a short period, likely closer to the lower end of the $20-$70 spectrum.

Damayanti Kerai asked about the sustainability of Dr. Reddy's India business growth, potential spillover benefits from prior GST disruptions, and the company's pricing expectations and competitive outlook for Semaglutide in key markets.

Answer

CEO Erez Israeli and CFO M V Narasimham affirmed the sustainability of India's double-digit growth (15-19% range) and clarified there was no GST spillover benefit in the current quarter. For Semaglutide, they maintained pricing expectations within the $20-$70 spectrum, anticipating the lower end for most markets and preparing for competitive conditions after an initial period of healthier prices.

Damayanti Kerai of HSBC questioned the sales outlook for lenalidomide in the upcoming quarter, potential pricing pressure, and the readiness and sufficiency of semaglutide manufacturing capacity.

Answer

CEO Erez Israeli confirmed that lenalidomide sales in Q2 should be of a similar magnitude to Q1, with most of the volume already booked, mitigating the risk of further significant price erosion. Regarding semaglutide, he clarified that initial launches will use a partner's capacity, not the Vizag facility, which comes online in FY28. He expressed confidence that the planned capacity of approximately 10 million pens for calendar '26 and 12 million for FY27 would be sufficient to gain meaningful market share.

Damayanti Kerai from HSBC inquired about the sustainable growth rate for the India business post-Sanofi vaccine integration, the progress of the Nestle JV, and the level of spending and future marketing strategy for the biologics portfolio.

Answer

CEO Erez Israeli projected double-digit growth for the India business for the full year, even excluding acquisitions. He announced the Nestle JV is progressing well and is expected to go live around August 1. Regarding biologics, he noted that biosimilars account for about 20% of R&D and 10% of CapEx. He confirmed that upcoming products like abatacept will be marketed by Dr. Reddy's directly in the US.