Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (d/b/a Sun Pharma) is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that manufactures and sells pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) primarily in India and the United States.
The company offers formulations in various therapeutic areas, such as cardiology, psychiatry,
neurology,gastroenterology and diabetology.
It also provides APIs such as warfarin, carbamazepine, etodolac, and clorazepate, as well as anti-cancers, steroids, peptides, sex hormones, and controlled substances.
Sun Pharmaceuticals was established by Mr. Dilip Shanghvi in 1983 in Vapi, Gujarat, with five products to treat psychiatry ailments. Cardiology products were introduced in 1987 followed by gastroenterology products in 1989. Today, it is the largest chronic prescription company in India and a market leader in psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, orthopedics,
ophthalmology, gastroenterology and nephrology.
The 2014 acquisition of Ranbaxy made Sun the largest pharma company in India, the largest Indian pharma company in the US, and the 5th largest speciality generic company globally.
Over 72% of Sun Pharma sales are from markets outside India, primarily in the United States. The US is the single largest market, accounting for about 50% of the company’s turnover; in all, formulations or finished dosage forms, account for 93% of the turnover. Manufacturing is across 26 locations, including plants in the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Israel. In the United States, the company markets a large basket of generics, with a strong pipeline awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Sun Pharma was listed on the stock exchange in 1994 in an issue oversubscribed 55 times. The founding family continues to hold a majority stake in the company. Today Sun Pharma is the second largest and the most profitable pharmaceutical company in India, as well as the largest pharmaceutical company by market capitalisation on the Indian exchanges.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry has become the third-largest producer in the world in terms of volumes and is poised to grow into an industry of $36.7 billion from $20 billion in 2015. In terms of value India still stands at number 14 in the world.
In 2009 Sun Pharma’s Caraco Pharmaceutical’s plant in Detroit was closed due to unsanitary conditions resulting in the seizure of $20 million of drugs by the FDA for contamination issues.
In December 2016 the FDA sent Sun a warning letter about nine violations at its manufacturing plant in Halol.
Sun Pharma requested USFDA to withdraw approval for 28 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) belonging to its wholly owned subsidiary Ranbaxy Laboratories.
