The Hindu Business Line : Aarti Drugs scouting for partners in China

The mid-segment pharma company is looking to ink an alliance in China, a deal that is likely to be done in about six months, according to Mr Satish Nachane, Managing Director of ADL.

"We do not see a threat, in fact, we see a large opportunity in this market. The company expects to formalise a joint venture towards facilitating the manufacture and marketing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in China. We will also look at sourcing certain APIs that are not our strength, since it works out to be more economical. We have short-listed the products and expect to firm-up the deal in about six months," Mr Nachane told Business Line.

With the all-important date of January 2005 around the corner - when the product-patent regime kicks-in, the Maharashtra-based Aarti Drugs is changing its profile from being into "commodity products" to looking at new drugs. The company has a strong presence in APIs (the input ingredients that go into a drug), specially in therapeutic areas like anti-diarrhoea and anti-inflammatory.

"The change in strategy commenced about three years ago when we started looking at new products, as, come 2005 and old commodity products will be replaced by new drugs," he points out.

Exports is big in ADL's scheme of things and currently about 40 per cent of its present turnover comes from that route, he said.

The company looks to end March 2004 at about Rs 230 crore, as compared with Rs 191 crore in the previous year.

"Earlier we used to send products to Europe for re-export, but now we look at new products aimed at regulated markets such as the US, Europe, China and Japan. In fact, exports to Japan look set to commence in the forth-coming year." Meanwhile, ADL is in the process of setting up a US-Food and Drug Administration-approved plant towards manufacturing for regulated markets.

"We have acquired a plant in Tarapur (Maharashtra) and expect it to be ready by 2005-06." The company has another manufacturing facility at Sarigam, Gujarat.

ADL is looking to make an investment of Rs 50 crore in the forth-coming year in beefing-up its manufacturing and research facilities. "We plan to go in for a private placement to raise about Rs 30 crore by the middle of the forth-coming fiscal," he said, without divulging details.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Pharmaceuticals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page