Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 |
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Corporate
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Alliances & Joint Ventures Wockhardt sets up jt ventures in Mexico, South Africa Our Bureau
Mr H.F. Khorakiwala
Mumbai , Feb. 8 DRUG company Wockhardt Ltd has formed two "business and marketing" joint ventures in Mexico and South Africa, respectively, besides setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil. Unveiling the company's global bio-tech strategy here on Tuesday, the Wockhardt Chairman, Mr Habil Khorakiwala, said that the new channels would be for marketing Wockhardt's insulin and other bio-pharma and diabetes-related products in the global market. Wockhardt would supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient, he said. Only recently did Wockhardt complete the restructuring of its operations in Europe, besides establishing its presence in the US; the two markets account for 50 per cent of Wockhardt's sales. Mr Khorakiwala said that the company was on the look out for acquisition opportunities in Europe, especially Germany. And Wockhardt was sitting on $100 million after the bond issue, he added. Detailing the new ventures, he said that the Mexico joint venture agreement was with Representaciones E Investigaciones Medicas, to form Wockhardt Mexico. Wockhardt would hold 51 per cent equity in the company. The pharmaceutical market in Mexico is valued at $7 billion and growing at 10 per cent. Insulin is a $75-million segment. In Brazil, Wockhardt has established a sales and marketing subsidiary, Wockhardt Farmaceutica do Brasil Ltd, to market its pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products. Brazil has a $5-billion pharmaceutical market. In South Africa, Wockhardt South Africa Pty Ltd is a 51:49 joint venture between Wockhardt and Pharma Dynamics, the 10th largest generic pharmaceutical company in that country. The joint venture will use the regulatory, sales and marketing expertise of pharma dynamics to commercialise Wockhardt's portfolio, he said. Meanwhile, the company has received nine approvals for its bio-pharma products and expects another 25 approvals during the year inRussia, the CIS countries, South America, South East Asia and North Africa, he said. On the company's pipeline of products, he said that Erythropoietin, for kidney-related applications, was slated for launch in Europe by 2006. Interferon alpha 2b, for immunity, is slated for launch by the middle of this year and WCK771, a cancer drug, was entering its second phase of clinical trials. On the progress made on Glargine, a new generation advance on insulin, he said that marketing would start next year. On the domestic front, Wockhardt was shifting its manufacturing to a new plant in Baddi, by the second quarter of this year. The Daman facility, where these products are now being manufactured, will now focus entirely on the export market, he said.
50 pc rise in net profit
Wockhardt announced a consolidated net profit of Rs 214 crore for the year ended December 31, 2004, a 50 per cent rise over 2003, the company said. The consolidated global revenue for the year, at Rs 1,239 crore, showed a 32 per cent growth over the previous year. "Wockhardt's post-tax profit has more than doubled from Rs 105 crore in 2002 to Rs 214 crore in 2004, reflecting its sustained healthy growth," the Wockhardt Chairman said. "We have achieved this in spite of increasing our investment in research and development (R&D) each year. Investment in R&D shot up by 45 per cent to Rs 94 crore in 2004," he added.
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