Legend Drugs and Formulations Private Ltd, Hyderabad, has been awarded the Confederation of India Industry's (CII) Best Productivity Award -2002 for the Small-Scale Industry sector. The award was received by Dr P Koteswara Rao, Managing Director of the company, from the state's Major Industries Minister K Vidyadhar Rao recently.
The company received the Best Entrepreneur of the Nation from the Department of Small-Scale Industries, Government of India, for 1999-2000. The company was also the recipient of the Best Entrepreneur of Andhra Pradesh for the year1998 from the Department of Small-Scale Industries, besides other awards like Vijaya Ratna and Bharat Gaurav.
Started in the year 1994, Legend is one of the three drug manufacturing units of Vanguard Therapeutics Private Ltd. The other two manufacturing units are Endoven Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd and Tsar Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd. Endoven is specialised in the manufacture of small volume Parenterals, tablets, drops, liquid orals and ointments and has WHO's Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate.
Tsar, started in the year 1992, is specialised in the manufacture of hi tech drug delivery dosage forms such as targeted drug delivery tablets, dispersible & flavoured kid tabs, enteric coated, film coated and sugar coated tablets and medicinal powders etc. The unit was awarded the WHO GMP certificate in 1998.
Legend is an ultra modern state-of-the-art drug manufacturing unit specialised to manufacture antibiotic dosage forms like dry powders/suspensions, liquid orals & capsules, speciality tablets and paediatric dosage forms. Within two years of its inception Legend got WHO's GMP certification and in January 2001 it got the ISO 9002 certification from American Quality Assessors.
Legend Advanced Biomedicals Lab is a new division started in 2001.The division is specially created to identify and launch new molecules, new formulations and Neutraceuticals meant for super-speciality doctors and specialized doctors. The division has made a significant presence in the very first year by launching Neutraceutical products like Impro (powder), Robopeptine (drops) and preventive medicines like Mycoze, Unifol etc.
Recently, the unit launched two molecules for the first time in India. The first product is CoEnzyme Q10 with the brand name ATP-30. The product falls under the category of Cellular Bioenergetics. This product has a very specific application in the treatment of cardio vascular disorders, oncology, endocrinology and neurology. The second product is Saw Palmetto, with the brand name Prostacon. Prescribed for the problems of BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia), it is claimed to be a very good product with the added advantage of a very high safety profile for long-term usage with high efficacy. Both these products are available in Softgel capsules to ensure higher absorption.
Though started as a small-scale unit, the group with an annual turnover of about Rs 40 crore, is no longer small and is even competing with MNCs and INCs. Talking to Pharmabiz, Dr Koteswara Rao said the group was undertaking contract manufacturing for companies like Cipla, based in Mumbai, Klarsehen, based in Kolkatta, Alkem, based in Mumbai and Vera, based in Hyderabad.
The group produces about 200 products of which B-BANC, anti-oxidant, multi-vitamin and multi-mineral capsules, Falcon tablets, Vanspar tablets and VIP-Z syrup and Vitalia, paediatric tonic for children are some of the popular brands. A rupee per sale of every bottle of Vitalia is being donated to CRY, according to Dr Koteswara Rao.
The company claims to be very strong in institutional sales as it nurtured, over a period of time, total reliability for quality, production volumes, timely delivery, and prompt service. The institutional buyers include the World Bank aided projects, the Employees State Insurance Scheme, Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (HSCC), New Delhi, Hindustan Latex Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram, MSDs (DGHS) Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Delhi, Karnal and Guwahati, Tamil Nadu Medical Sales Corpn, Karnataka, AP, Orissa, Gujarat and Delhi State Governments, Maharashtra Health Systems Development Corpn, Mumbai, among others.
According to Dr Koteswara Rao, the president of the Drug Formulations Manufacturers Association, the company's fundamentals are very strong and had adequate resources to meet any technology upgradation, expansion of marketing activities and production of volumes even at a short notice. The company, he said, worked with the motto of 'Passion for Excellence and Compassion for Human Values.' The company was working with an eye towards the post-2005 regulated regime, he said.
A cell has been created to garner the opportunities to export formulations to various countries, feeling the winds of change and challenges brought by the globalisation of Indian industry and the WTO regime. Efforts are being made to export to African countries, CIS, Bangladesh, and developed countries like the US and UK. But Dr Rao admitted that he was facing tough competition from drug giants on the export front.