Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd, the US-based 47 per cent affiliate of Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, will start reporting profits this year, according to Dilip Shanghvi, chairman and managing director.
The Detroit-based Caraco develops, manufactures and distributes generic and private-label prescription drugs to the nation's largest wholesalers and distributors, drugstore chains and healthcare systems.
Shanghvi told analysts during an investor conference call here recently that Caraco has done significantly better this quarter, and after providing for a non-cash charge of Rs. 1.25 million, they have made a net loss of only $ 68,000 compared to a significantly higher loss of $1.95 million in the corresponding previous quarter.
This has been possible because of significant increase in the turnover that the company has announced for this quarter and Caraco remains reasonably confident that they will achieve anywhere from $16-18 million overall sales and profitability during the year, Shanghvi said.
Caraco's net sales for the second quarter of 2002 rose 509% to $5,627,449, from $924,552 for 2001's second quarter. Buoyed by the higher sales, both gross and operating income improved appreciably. Gross profit rose to $3,061,528 from $24,089 a year ago. Operating profit was $307,277 a sharp contrast to the year-earlier operating loss of $1,411,768. The net loss for the quarter was $68,157, $0.0 per diluted share, a noteworthy improvement over the net loss of $1,953,291, or $0.09 per diluted share, the year before. The Q2 2002 net loss includes a noncash charge of $1,251,200, equivalent to $0.06 per diluted share, for two drug-technology transfers from Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, which has filed six drug master file applications with the US FDA, is expected to file two more applications this quarter. The company is expecting approvals for three applications this quarter, the names of which it is not willing to reveal. The company has said it has filed DMF for metformin, tramadol, metaprolol, tizanidine and mirtazapine, but is not revealing the sixth molecule.
According to Sudhir Valia, who looks after the operations, SPIL is expecting to supply to its US-based subsidiary Caraco a supply bulk actives by the year-end as Sun's DMF approval (metformin, tramadol bulk actives) is awaiting and Caraco has also filed ANDA based on Sun's DMF.
Caraco has also completed a $1 million plant expansion in Detroit that will meet its production capacity needs through 2003.
A drug master file (DMF) or a device master file (MAF) is a submission to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that may be used to provide confidential detailed information on facilities, processes, or articles used in the manufacturing, processing, packaging, and storing of human drugs or medical devices.