Mylan Inc, the US based multinational generic and specialty pharmaceutical company, has decided to rebrand its wholly owned Indian subsidiary Matrix Laboratories as Mylan and enter the Indian commercial market with its own prescription drugs within the next 12 months. After successful integration of Matrix during last four years, Mylan is planning to change the name after certain approvals from Registrar of Companies in India. However, it will retain the Matrix name for the institutional ARV franchise, serving NGOs and other alliances.


While speaking to press in Mumbai, Robert J Coury, chairman and CEO of Mylan, said, “Throughout the last four years, Matrix has played a unique role in Mylan's transformation into the global and rapidly growing company we are today. Not only has Matrix contributed to Mylan's very strong growth through the success of its business, it has also made it possible for Mylan to integrate vertically and realize substantial ongoing operational efficiencies on a global basis. These benefits have been felt commercially in every region in which we operate.”



“Today we are building on these accomplishments by announcing our intention to rebrand Matrix as Mylan. This rebranding will lay the groundwork for continued expansion in India through our entry into the Indian commercial market with our own prescription pharmaceuticals with the next 12 months. We are extremely excited to bring the benefits of our one-of-a-kind global operating platform to India, given the potential we see in this market. In order to support the commercial launch and other growth opportunities in India, we expect to continue to expand our workforce significantly over the coming years and aim to attract the highest talent both from within India and internationally. As we grow, we will continue to apply our global standards of excellence to our operations around the world.” Coury added.



At present Mylan is finalising the product launch plan and likely to introduce few new products in next few months. It has a portfolio of over 900 commercial products and it invested around US$ 300 million on expansion and R&D in India. After consolidating the position in Indian operations, it is planning to enter China within next two-three years. Coury pointed out that the pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated worldwide and the company is moving ahead after considering all aspects such as competition, manufacturing scale, facilities, quality etc.



Heather Bresch, president, Mylan, said, “Having led the integration of Matrix and Mylan, I am particularly excited about today's milestone. Changing Matrix's name to Mylan represents a natural next step for our business in India, and we believe it will produce many benefits. Key among them will be the ability to speak with a more unified and powerful voice. By bringing Matrix under the Mylan brand, we believe we can better differentiate our company within the industry.”



While being recognized as one of the world's leading and largest API suppliers, Matrix also offers a growing line of finished dosage form products, most of which are generic ARV therapies for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, including both adult and pediatric therapies. As at the end of March 2010, Matrix achieved consolidated net sales of Rs.2,776 crore and earned a net profit of Rs.502 crore. The company's shares were delisted from BSE and NSE with effect from August 21, 2009.