The Mumbai based pharmaceutical company Aarti Drugs Ltd (ADL) is all set to expand its international business by entering into joint venture agreements with some top companies in Asian region. The company has entered into a JV agreement with a Chinese company engaged in API manufacturing.

The company, Huanggang Yinghe Aarti Pharmaceutical Company Limited, formed a few weeks ago will be manufacturing and selling of APIs in China. Aarti Drugs will have 26 per cent stake in the Chinese JV.

A D Pandya, senior finance manger, Aarti Drugs said, "We are strong player in the international as well as in the domestic market for the anti diarrhoeal and anti inflammatory segments. We are planning to expand our current therapeutic area in the near future. In addition to the existing exports to 86 countries, we are developing business in new geographies".

Aarti Drugs is also active in the contract research and manufacturing activities. During 2006-07 company has generated a revenue of Rs 20 lakh from the CRAMs business and expecting to grow to Rs one crore in the current fiscal.

According to a Frost and Sullivan forecast, India and China could potentially account for 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the outsourced market share for active pharmaceutical ingredients, finished dosage formulations and intermediates. This CRAMs market totalled $100 billion in 2004 and is growing annually at 10.8 per cent. ADL with its low cost skill base cGMP, ISO (two plants) and US FDA compliance levels, manufacturing capacity, industry position, cost efficiency and track record, is generated to take its share of this CRAMS market.

Currently, the company has two R&D plants at Tarapur and Boisar. In one plant, company is developing processes for various blockbuster products coming off-patent within next 3 to 4 years. With the development of these capabilities, whatever product come off-patent in the global markets, company can launch the product in US market. "Recently, we have invested around Rs 3.50 lakh in our R&D centre for installing certain new equipments. In the second R&D plant we are carrying out improvement of the process of existing products to get better yield, reduction in process time by experimenting various catalyst. And in turn we are trying to reduce raw material costs". Its seven DMFs are still pending for the US FDA approval. ADL has successfully developed, around 30 new molecules within the past four years.