ABL Biotechnologies Ltd., a bio-research and manufacturing company in Chennai, has launched a pharmaceutical division to manufacture and distribute its own branded formulations.

Invia Health, the new division will soon launch about 20 products addressing management of diseases in three categories - diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gastro-intestinal disorders. The company has launched glimepiride (Glimod), glimepiride with metformin (Glimod-M) and pioglitazone with metformin (Glysense) in the oral hypoglycemic agents, apart from two drugs to manage diabetic neuropathy. In the CVD segment, ABL has brought out Atrovastatin (Zator), Fenofibrate and Atorvastatin (Zator-F) and Ezetimible with Atorvastatin (Zator-E), Clopidogrel (Flogrel) and Clopidogrel with Aspirin (Flogrel AS). It has also launched drugs for gastro-intestinal disorders namely Fluririd SR (Rabeprazole with sustained release domperidone) and Salubact, a symbiotic.

The company plans to launch these products in South India within a year and to establish its presence all over India by 2008. About 80 per cent of the drug discovery projects under 8 categories like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are undergoing preclinical trials. These drugs would be produced and marketed by Invia Health, informed K O Issac, chairman and managing director, ABL Biotechnologies Ltd at a press conference in Chennai, this week. He added that the company expects a turnover of Rs.6 to 10 crore from the new division in the first year of operations.

The company is investing about Rs 50 crore to set up two plants at its existing manufacturing facility at Thiruchenthur in Tamil Nadu. While one unit is to produce DocosaHexaenoic Acid (DHA), the other is a florescent pigment unit, informed Issac.