Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Nicholas Piramal and other pharmaceutical companies are betting on inlicensing or strategic marketing tie-ups to help grow local sales after India banned copying of patented drugs. According to analysts, Indian drug makers are forging alliances with overseas companies such as CD Pharma, Gnosis SpA, Crawford Healthcare and Syrio Pharma to sell drugs for chronic and acute cases. These companies are doing so because it fetches higher profits vis-a-vis investments and is less risky after the world's second most populous nation adopted drug patents in 2005. "The margins for exclusively inlicensed patented drugs are higher at about 25-35 per cent and most inlicensed drugs may not face competition. The marketing expenses of these companies will also be less as they already have a large, dedicated network to penetrate different parts of India," noted Ranjit Kapadia, Head of Research (Pharma), Prabhudas Lilladher. Ranbaxy, which has the highest number of brands featuring among the top 30 launches over the last two years as per the ORG-IMS data, launched 12 new products during the last quarter. As a result, its domestic market share increased from 4.82 per cent to 5.05 per cent in the December 2007-February 2008 period, a growth of 23 per cent. In the quarter ended March 2008, the company's domestic business increased by 16 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Ranbaxy's new offerings include a novel bio-generic product, Bonista