Spurious drugs have been a major concern in the country, with industry projections putting its prevalence at over Rs 4,000 crore. Drug companies are constantly on the look-out for better ways to package to keep counterfeit and spurious trade at bay. But it does not take the illegal trade too long to catch up with technology changes and even holograms are copied, say pharma industry-representatives.

The new anti-counterfeit packaging will be intrinsic to the process, and will have less outside intervention, Mr Bhattacharya said, adding that the products have emerged from internal research.

The Rs 230 crore company recently saw an infusion of capital through the five per cent equity that was picked up by Morgan Stanley. The transaction brought the company about Rs $20 million (about Rs 81 crore), Mr Dutta said. Other private equity firms with stake in the company include Fidelity holding seven per cent, Merrill Lynch with three per cent and Marc Faber with 3.5 per cent, he said. The company has also got an enabling resolution approved for its proposal to raise $150 million from overseas markets through the issue of securities.

To keep pace with the growth in the pharmaceutical industry, the company is investing Rs 30 crore in a new plant at Sikkim and a large plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE plant will be Ess Dee’s first plant overseas, at about $30 million (estimated Rs 123 crore), he said. The import duty from UAE to the European and US markets is zero, while the same product if sent from India would incur a 12 per cent duty, he pointed out. Funds for the capacity expansion will be raised from internal accruals, he said.

Ess Dee is looking to extend it’s packaging solutions to speciality food and the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Market seeding has already been undertaken and full-fledged roll out is slated for October, Mr Bhattacharya said.

More Stories on : Outlook | Packaging | Piracy | Pharmaceuticals

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