Alembic seeks to mix it with US and European players
The Gujarat-headquartered group, which is involved in both the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and pharmaceutical formulation markets, aims to grow internationally and double its annual turnover over the next two to three years, according to a report in India’s Business Standard.
Company director Pranav Amin commented that, while the firm had been slow to enter the highly regulated western pharmaceutical markets, the situation was changing.
He explained that the firm “intends to file about 10-12 ANDAs every year and to tap potential in the generic markets of the US and Europe.” The company has also submitted around 22 drug master file (DMF) requests to regulatory agencies in Europe and the US in recent years in a bid to boost its roster of API clients.
Amin also said that: “Now large retail chains in the US are looking at second-level Indian companies with quality manufacturing facilities for direct drug supplies and we will try to capitalise that opportunity.”
For fiscal 08, Alembic’s operating income reached RPS 10bn ($223.2m), up 30 per cent on the previous 12 month period. Of this, income from exports more than doubled to RPS 3.1bn.
In addition for the quarter ended June 30, the contribution from international operations grew 279 per cent to just under RPS 16m. Rocketing export API sales, which increased 715 per cent to RPS 708m, drove this expansion with Alembic’s export formulations business contributing RPS 117.7m, up 162 per cent on the comparable quarter of the previous fiscal year.
In recent months Alembic has secured a three-year manufacturing contracts with an as yet unidentified drugmaker, under which it will supply a range of APIs produced at its facilities in Baroda and Baddi, India. The company expects to generate additional revenue of between $25m and $30m from the deal.
Development in domestic market
While expansion on a global scale is clearly a cornerstone of Alembic’s development strategy, the company is not neglecting its domestic business. Amin explained that the firm had restructured its Indian operations, setting up eight new units each focussed on a specific market.
He said that the Alembic has hired 600 local medical representatives and relocated its sales team to its home base in Mumbai. Amin added that the company will concentrate on expanding its product portfolio in an effort to achieve annual sales growth of 15 per cent sales.
