Tianyin completes new Jiangchuan macrolide facility
The JCM facility at Xinjin Industrial Development Area will produce Azithromycin active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for domestic and international markets.
According to James Tong, Tianyin CFO, completion of Phase I of the 240 ton-capacity manufacturing facility will be followed by the China’s State Food and Drug Administration’s (SFDA) GMP certification.
Tong told in-PharmaTechnologist the 17 acre facility is expandable to 500 ton total Phase II capacity and 900 ton total Phase III capacity of international standard Azithromycin API.
He explained that: “Tianyin will utilise a portion of the Azithromycin raw material for our Azithromycin tablets which are listed in the Essential Drug List (EDL) in China.”
The macrolide antibiotic, Azithromycin, prevents the growth of bacteria and has been effective against a number of microorganisms including streptococcus pneumonia, haemophilus influenza, Chlamydia trachomatis and salmonella typhi.
Growth in demand for Azithromycin
The company claims it has seen a rise in demand for its Azithromycin API, causing the price of the raw material to double in recent years.
As a result, Tianyin said it expects the new JCM facility to contribute “meaningful revenue” before the end of the year and he anticipates the JCM site will deliver $40-50m in revenue for fiscal year 2012.
'Competition nature of the business’
Although the company admits it has gained more business rivals as big pharmas are investing heavily in the pharmerging country, Tong believes “competition is the nature of the business.”
But Tong remains unphased by such rivalry as he said the manufacturing facility boasts state-of-the-art instrumentation for macrolide raw production, which results in a high efficiency yield ratio.
Added to that, “Tianyin’s location in western China provides geographic advantages for purchasing raw materials,” he said.
Once the facility is open and fully operational in March or April this year, Tianyin said production will be ramped up production and ultimately the firm's sales revenue will rise. Tianyin's longer-term aim is to develop JCM’s international API export business.
