The Hindu Business Line : Mankind Pharma lines up growth plans

The company, which recently launched a new division of its `Special Mankind' OTC products dealing with women's health, will add 600 people to its existing field force strength of 2,600 employees.

Mr R.C. Juneja, Managing Director, said that the company is likely to clock Rs 525-crore turnover for the current fiscal, compared to Rs 370 crore last year.

Mr Juneja is optimistic about maintaining a healthy growth for the coming year too, and expects 2007-08 sales to touch Rs 750 crore.

The company plans to start manufacturing from its new facility at Poanta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh from April.

Mr Juneja said that the facility's capacity of 30 million ampoules and 30 million vials will be utilised by the company, which expects to save five per cent in costs in the process.

An R&D centre has also been planned in the NCR region at an initial investment of Rs 10 crore and a consolidated investment of Rs 35 over two years.

The centre would initially concentrate on formulations development, taking on bio-equivalence studies and contract research work in the future.

Meanwhile, the company plans to expand portfolio and coverage of the domestic market.

"We have been trendsetters in providing drugs at very cheap prices, having identified those medicines whose bulk drugs aren't expensive but whose retail prices are very high. For example, Nurokind, the Vitamin B12 derivative injectible, was being sold at Rs 90 MRP but we are marketing it at Rs 8," said Mr Juneja.

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