In recognition of its rapid rise to the top of the Brazilian generic drugs market, Frost & Sullivan Tuesday named Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd [Get Quote] as the winner of the 2004 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award

Despite the foreign company's relatively recent entry into the country in the year 2000, Ranbaxy successfully joined the ranks of the top five generic companies in Brazil within a short span of four years, Frost & Sullivan noted.

'Today, Ranbaxy is the fifth-largest company in the generic drugs segment, and the first among foreign companies, with a market share of about 5 per cent in terms of sales,' Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Barath Shankar said in a statement from PALO ALTO, California.

Frost and Suulivan, a global consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. .

Every year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to a company whose outstanding entrepreneurial initiatives, combined with its sound marketing strategy, have propelled it to the forefront of its particular industry. Ranbaxy has reached this position by adopting a robust strategy of introducing a large number of generic products focused mainly on the CVS and CNS therapy areas.

In Brazil, Ranbaxy has a number of exclusive generic products. Ranbaxy also has a growing portfolio of branded products. Shankar noted that these entrepreneurial initiatives are likely to continue in the future. 'With a large number of drugs in the pipeline and a projected increase in market share, Ranbaxy is set to continue growing in the Brazilian generic drugs market,' he said.

Ranbaxy is one of the largest R&D spenders amongst Indian pharma industry with over 7 percent of its global revenues being invested during 2004 and is expected to raise it to 10 percent of its sales by 2007, much ahead of the industry average.