The capacity expansion of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) plant of Eisai Pharmaceuticals India will be ready by end of October, according to its Managing Director, Sanjit Singh Lamba.

“The production capacity of our API unit in Visakhapatnam is being expanded from 30 tonnes per annum to 100 tonnes,’’ Lamba told BusinessLine here on Thursday.

The Japanese drug maker had invested over ₹30 crore in expansion of the plant in addition to the investment made previously. So far, Eisai had invested ₹ 300 crore in India and is planning to invest another ₹50 crore in the next two years, he said.

The APIs being produced are used for in-house consumption of Eisai India as well as export to its parent in Japan. The warehousing capacity has also been expanded of late.

R&D facility Recently, its Research and Development (R&D) facility in Visakhapatnam has also been expanded. While it had 20 scientists earlier, their number now stands at 45.

R&D being carried out in India has global business implication of Eisai. “We have few products in the pipeline which are likely to get approvals for Eisai globally,’’ Lamba said.

The company now has about 10 products which are in various stages of development in therapeutic areas such as neurosciences and liver disorders.

In the recent past, the company has also been active in launching drugs in the domestic market. In August, it had launched its anti-epileptic drug Fycompa (perampanel) at an India-specific price. The drug is priced at less than $1 per tablet compared to $12-$15 in the US and Europe.

The turnover of Eisai India was at ₹120 crore last year. “We are expecting this to grow at 17-20 per cent per annum,’’ Lamba said. The value of internal exports of Eisai India to Eisai Japan are at ₹200 crore annually. It employs 500 people in various roles.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW