The Rs 500 crore Alembic Limited has invested Rs 31 crore in the year 2001 as a part of the company's strategy to get into the regulatory market in a big way. Alembic, presently a major in antibiotic bulk as well as formulations, has put in these additional investments in the areas of bulk drug production, formulation and the research development, which would help the company to strengthen its base to meet the requirements of both domestic and the regulated international markets.

Commenting on the ongoing expansion programme and the investments, H. T. Patel, senior vice-president, Antibiotics & Microbial Products Division, told Pharmabiz.com that the new investments are mainly for the infrastructure development in the bulk drug plants, formulation unit and for strengthening the research and development division. Patel said that the company has already spent Rs 14 crore in the API, Rs. 15 crore for the capacity expansion and market development in the formulation segment and another Rs 3 crore for R&D.

In the R&D front the company has already increased number of research scientists and also have procured sophisticated equipments apart from developing a separate pilot plant for developmental activities, Patel said.

These additional investments, which are from internal accruals and through borrowings, are targeted at the company's aim to modernize the internal operations, upgrading the infrastructure to comply with international regulatory requirements and also to gear up the manpower and other capabilities to prepare the company for the competitive market scenario ahead, he added.

The company has recently appointed Accenture, the consultancy firm, for operational improvement exercise. Accenture will assist the company to develop a blueprint for performance enhancement in their bulk drug plant and formulation business. The objective is to improve productivity, cost rationalisation and supply chain management. Further to this, they will identify key areas for improvement in sales force management and marketing effectiveness.

The company manufactures pharmaceuticals and chemicals, bulk drugs (penicillin and other antibiotics) and formulations. It is also the largest manufacturer of erythromycin (macrolides) in India. It is the second largest manufacturer of roxithromycin in the world. The company is a leading manufacturer of anti-infectives and penicillin-G. Its two top line brands are Althrocin (erythromycin) and Glycodin Expectorant. In February 2001, the company launched Glycodin Activ cold and flu tablets that are available over-the-counter (OTC) at Rs 12 (local taxes extra) for a blister pack of 10. Other brands of the company such as Roxid (roxythromycin), Nimegeric (nimusulide) and Azithral (azithromycin) have been growing well in their respective segments.

The company expects Rs 700 crore worth business out of exports of formulations and API during the next five years. The company feels it may even have more revenue from global operations than domestic operations. It has set a target of Rs 150 crore in export revenue during the current year and is working out strategic alliances with a company in East Africa. Alembic is considering a multi-pronged strategy, where the company would make an effort to consolidate its position in southern and eastern Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and South Asia. The company will operate in Europe and the US mainly as supplier or associate of generic drug manufacturers. It is hopeful of getting considerable help from its European subsidiary - Alembic Europe Pvt. Limited.

Meanwhile, this year, Alembic undertook an internal reorganisation. The company decided to merge Mega Care, the company's antibiotics division, with the pharmaceutical division to avoid overlapping of products in the operating therapeutic segments. The two divisions' merger was completed in mid-July.