The mid cap pharmaceutical company, Natco Pharma said its upcoming cytotoxic API faci-lity, being established at an estimated cost of around Rs 15 crore, will be functio-nal by the end of this year. The API facility is being developed at its existing chemical division facility premises at Mekaguda in Mahabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh.

Bhaskar Narayan, director, Natco Pharma, said that the company is not looking at a specific market share as the production is applied in special category treatment and cancer drugs.

As part of its inorganic expansion plans, the company is looking to enter markets like Vietnam. It has recently acquired retail pharmacies in the east-coast region, including Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The company intends to hive off its retail business as a separate entity after attaining required critical mass.

As of now, Natco Pharma uses its retail business to promote the company's branded generic products in the US and opening up opportunities for alliances to distribute products of other Indian pharma manufactures, reliable company sources said. The company does not intend to enter the Indian retail market and is concentrating all its energies in North America, they added.

Also, the company has plans to introduce nearly 20 new branded generics, including generic version of Teva's glatiramer for sclerosis, during the current financial year, the sources said.