The Arya Vaidya Nilayam (AVN) Group, a 73-year old Madurai-based ayurveda drug manufacturing company and treatment centre, is planning an expansion in manufacturing, R&D, marketing and treatment facilities at an investment of Rs 10crore.

The company is planning to double its manufacturing capacity focusing on basic extraction and processing methods, to increase its production strength and to improve the quality of packing. The manufacturing unit will be expanded with an expected investment of Rs 2 crore soon. The monthly production of the company will go up from the current level of Rs 1crore to Rs 1.75crore with the expansion, according to the company sources.

AVN, which already handles applied research including the first phase of clinical research, is planning to expand its R&D facilities focusing fundamental research including separation techniques, isolation of active ingredients and biological activity of plants.

A freshly built up area of 3,000 sq. ft., with an investment outlay of Rs 80 lakh is under progress, targeting better quality control tests, heavy metal content monitoring and investigative R&D. The R&D developments are also eyeing on executing projects, for which the company will cast for external funding and grants in a future stage, according to Dr. Ramesh R Varier, managing director, AVN Group.

The company has already entered into an agreement with a foreign university to execute projects on cardio-vascular and diabetes treatment, where the foreign partner will provide technology to suite the ayurveda system of medicine. Though the company refused to reveal the name of the university, they informed that the research works are on progress and the collaboration will come out with one or more number of products on the area within 2007.

As a part of its expansion plan, the company commenced work to set up a multi-specialty hospital at Madurai. This facility will provide integrated ayurveda and allopathy treatment facility focusing preventive and curative aspects of healthcare. The new facility, in a 7-acre property at Vilachery, will have a specialty section on Skeleto-Mascular disease and cardiac disorders. An out patient department is already operational for this. The hospital, in a built up area of around 30,000 sq. ft. is expected to come up with investment of Rs 2.6crore and will be operational by the end of 2007.

"With the new multi specialty hospital, we are trying to establish our strength in the entire area of preventive and curative healthcare. The hospital will be equipped to provide high class ayurvedic treatment facilities along with charitable healthcare services. We are also planning to provide music therapy through this institution," Ramesh told Pharmabiz. He added that the company has plans to double its treatment capacity in future.

As far as marketing plans, the company is on a venture to strengthen its marketing force in Karnataka and Maharashtra by increasing field strength by December 2006, and is planning to set up its field force in Andhra Pradesh soon.

The Rs 6-crore AVN is expecting to hit a turnover of Rs 11crore during the current financial year and is hoping to touch Rs 35crore turnover by 2010, Ramesh said.