The Pune-based leading pharma company, Twilight Litaka Pharma Ltd (TLPL), is expanding its manufacturing facility in Baddi at Himachal Pradesh, with an initial investment of Rs 15 crore. The new facility is expected to be commissioned in mid August 2007. This facility will be used to manufacture tablet, capsules and liquids. The company is also looking forward to the tax holiday scheme at Sikkim.
Speaking to Chronicle Pharmabiz, Abhijit Bora, executive director, TLPL, said, "We are investing Rs 15 crore to expand our manufacturing facility at Baddi. We have taken a loan of Rs 40 crore from the ICICI bank for setting up manufacturing unit at Baddi as well as for expanding the company's market outreach in the domestic market. We are setting up new marketing team in Delhi with more than 50 executives in the next calendar year. Recently, we have introduced our two new divisions, namely Nutra and Zenith, for the nutraceutical and gynaecology segment, respectively. Currently, the company has as many as 20 products in the pipeline."
The company's Zenith division focuses on servicing two specialties of medical practitioners viz., dermatologists and gynaecologists. The fraternity is presented with a range of products prescribed for patients on a regular basis.
With the nutra division, TLPL has entered into the nutraceutical segment to focus on nutritional therapy. The division's foremost brand is calm cream - a nutritional supplement for skin useful in treatment of psoriases and eczema. This division will also introduce multi vitamin combinations uniquely formulated for best results. The company's nutra division caters to the adjuvant and support therapy segments.
The company exports its products to over 30 countries across Africa, South America, South East and Central Asia. TLPL also offers contract manufacturing services to the leading multinational companies like Novartis, GSK, Wockhardt, Cipla, Pfizer, Lupin and Serum.
Recently, the company has signed a MoU with Sami Labs Ltd, a Bangalore- based company engaged in nutraceuticals, to purchase 17 brands. With the additions of these brands, the company expects to increase the turnover substantially in the financial year 2007-08. As per the agreement executed with Sami Labs Ltd, the company has acquired ownership of these brands and owns exclusive rights to manufacture and market the nutraceutical products under these brands in India. Sami Labs will also continue to support the company's foray in the domestic nutra segment with more research based new products.
The company has also entered into an agreement with the Indian arm of a Malaysian company engaged in the marketing of nutraceutical products. The company is doing business in six countries besides India.
Twilight Litaka has performed well in the year ended March 2007. During the period, the company's net sales increased by 27 per cent to Rs 197 crore from Rs 155 crore in the last year. Its net profit improved by 47 per cent to Rs 14.08 crore from Rs 9.56 crore in the previous year. The company's domestic market growth rate stood at 70 per cent for the 2006-07.
The company has well equipped, modern manufacturing testing and packaging facilities at Pimpri, Vadgaon, Vasai and Baddi. The Pimpri plant has been approved by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
While talking about company's further expansion plan, Bora, said, "Our Board is positively working on the Sikkim tax holiday scheme. The Sikkim plan is considers as a future expansion Plan. But at present nothing has been finalised. We are aggressively working on it".