Drug major Lupin announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted tentative approval to its Perindopril Erbumine tabs in the potencies of 2mg, 4mg and 8mg.

Lupin's perindopril erbumine pills generic version of Solvay Pharmaceuticals' Aceon tabs used to treat high blood pressure and management of arterial sclerosis.

In a declaration, the company said, "Commercial shipments of the product will commence soon."

According to the IMS Health sales facts, Aceon had an annual sales worth $24 million during the period ended September 2009.

Lupin products are sold in more than 70 nations throughout the world.

Lupin posted an increase of 37.85% in the consolidated net profit for the three month period ended December 2009.

The group recorded a net profit of Rs 1,606 million for the quarter under review as against Rs 1,165 million for the corresponding period ended December 2008.

Total income zoomed 29.16% to Rs 12,709.40 million for the quarter ended December 2009 from Rs 9,839.80 million earlier.

The shares of the company closed at Rs 1,420.45, up 0.9%, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 1,564 and a low of Rs 547.80 on BSE.

Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 69.71 and 19.10 respectively.