Wockhardt Ltd, a Rs 1450-crore pharma major, has built up strong financial position to grab global opportunities and consolidated its presence in the near future. The acquisition of Dumex India with its two products Protinex and Farex will generate revenue of Rs 120 in the current year and same will touch to Rs 200 crore within next two-three years. The company is strengthening its business operations in US and UK in coming years.
Addressing the Seventh Annual General Meeting, Habil Khorakiwala, chairman, said, "Our biotechnology business has been carved out as a strategic business unit to facilitate focused growth in this area. This accelerated the growth of our biotechnology business beyond India's shores. We are aggressively tapping the rest of the world market for our biopharmaceuticals, and preparing ourselves to enter the European and US markets for these products."
The company's UK operations improved significantly with sales of 53 million pound sterling and it is now the second largest supplier of hospital products in UK. Similarly the US market is its fastest growing market and the company received five approvals during 2005. Wockhardt now sells 13 products in the US, compared to five in 2005. There are 20 pending applications which includes nine sterile products, three cephalosporin and six non-cephalosporin injections, he added.
The company has significantly increased its market share of its brands in India and it is working on expanding its product portfolio by launching new products in cardiology, oncology and dermatology. Wosulin accounts for more than 40 per cent of new prescriptions generated for newly diagnosed diabetic patients in India. Clinical trials are in progress on glargine, along-acting insulin analogue. Khorakiwala said that the company will be the first in India to manufacture and market glargine next year. The company also developed a promising anti-MRSA agent. The new chemical entity WCK771 has now entered the phase II of clinical trials.
While talking to shareholders, Khorakiwala pointed out concern about government move to make pharmaceutical industry an exception to the reform process. The drug policy draft aims to raise the span of price control from the current level of 22 per cent to 40 per cent, thereby bringing almost 70 per cent of the market under price control. This will severely impact the ability of Indian companies to invest in R&D, hurt their competitiveness, and retard their expansion in global generic market. "Going back to an ear of controls will be suicidal" he said.