Lupin Diagnostics will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lupin Healthcare. Lupin is branching out into diagnostics to take advantage of its ‘doctor-connect’ and enter a market with minimal entry barriers, strong returns on capital invested, and double-digit growth. It is now hiring a staff, deciding on franchise partners, and constructing a 45,000-square-foot laboratory in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Lupin’s official debut is scheduled for next month
The company has decided to formally launch its Lupin’s diagnostic. Credit Suisse analysts highlighted that Lupin has already engaged an experienced team with diagnostics experience from Apollo Diagnostics, Dr Lal’s Pathlabs, SRL, and Reliance Life Sciences.
Anubhav Aggarwal and Sayantan Maji said, “The competitive intensity in the diagnostics sector will grow with Lupin’s entry. The diagnostics sector’s low entry hurdles, strong returns on capital invested (over 50%), and rapid growth (double-digit) profile has recently attracted new players, including digital health aggregators.”
Despite the inherent benefit of a solid doctor-patient relationship, pharmaceutical firms have not yet entered the diagnostics market. On the other hand, analysts believe that Lupin’s involvement signals a new trend of pharmaceutical companies moving into diagnostics.
Lupin has established a National Reference Laboratory in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, that can perform a wide range of tests in molecular diagnostics, cytogenetics, flow cytometry, histopathology, microbiology, and other areas.
According to a tweet by Franchise India Holdings, Lupin is also seeking franchise partners with an investment of Rs 2-5 lakh and no security deposit. According to a hub-and-spoke strategy, Lupin Healthcare operates all processing laboratories surrounded by collecting centers.
The aim is to concentrate on western India (Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, and Kolhapur), central India (Patna and Ranchi), and eastern India (Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, and Kolhapur) (Kolkata, Siliguri, and Guwahati).
