The Rs 889 crore Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Orchid), is trying to further its phenomenal growth in the last few years by aggressively tapping the regulated markets, thanks to its strength in the cephalosporins.
The company has filed five DMFs and five ANDAs in the first quarter of financial year 2006-07 to make the cumulative count to 31 DMFs and 31 ANDAs currently. Among these, two of the ANDA filings pertain to Paragraph IV, first-to-file launches in the non-antibiotic space. The company has so far received approval for 15 ANDAs. Further product launches based on approvals will propel the strong growth anticipated by the company in the current financial year, according to the company sources.
Simultaneously, Orchid is also carrying on its endeavour for dossier filings for European and other regulated markets, which will open up additional product-market opportunities in the regulated market space. Orchid's increased foray into the more lucrative regulated markets has sustained the growth momentum, according to K Raghavendra Rao, managing director, Orchid. He said that the increased rate of regulatory filings, both in the antibiotic and non-antibiotic space coupled with a niche product pipeline would drive business growth in future.
Orchid has positioned itself as a niche player in the cephalosporin US generics space currently with 5 products in 11 dosage forms and 33 dosage strengths. The company believes that growth in the generic market has helped Orchid to maintain growth despite additional competition over a couple of products. The company had also recently started API business ofCefazolin, a key injectable product into finished dosage form supplies. This strategy, supplements the existing supplies of this product in finished dosage form through its distribution partner in the US.
With the strength in company's world class facilities in development and manufacturing of APIs and finished dosage forms which cover the entire spectrum of cephalosporin products, Orchid entered into the regulated generic market in 2005-06, and recorded considerable revenues in the first nine months in the fiscal, according to sources. They said that the venture has increased the company's business in regulated market to 45 percent of its total business in 2005-06, whereas the share was 20 percent in 2004-05.
The company adds that formulations business has also leaped high in the recent past, where the share of formulations business has jumped to 39 percent in 2005-06, as against a total of 12 percent in the financial year 2004-05.
The cephalosporins foray into the regulated market has been supplemented by additional facilities and development schedules as well as distribution alliances to cover other niche antibiotics like betalactams, monobactams and carbapenems as well as the non-penicillin, non-cephalosporin products with a strategy of integrated multiple core competencies, added the sources.
The company had a fine performance in the domestic formulations market also, which generated revenues of Rs 19.42 crore in the first quarter of current financial year against Rs 17.47 crore recorded during the same quarter, last fiscal. Orchid's premium and new product introductions, including the critical care antibiotics range have had good market acceptance and the company expects a robust revenue from the domestic formulations business in the current fiscal, according to the company officials.