Homoeopathy major Bahola Healthcare (P) Ltd, has invested Rs1.5 crore to set up a facility at Pudicherry the erstwhile Pondicherry. The company which already manufactures generics at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu will now move a portion of its production activities to the Union Territory. The unit is expected to be commissioned by the year-end. Going hand-in-hand with the production establishment, the company is also streamlining an efficient distribution system in a number of states in the country.

The Greenfield project will be a state-of-the-art factory from which the company plans to register our products in the US, Canada and South America. This factory will manufacture liquid orals, tablets, ointments and ophthalmic, Kartik Raghava Murty, managing director, Bahola Healthcare (P) Ltd. told Pharmabiz.

With regard to the distribution network, Bahola has embarked on an organized distribution system. It involves educating its distribution partners on the efficiency of the system and proper stocking. Every distribution partner is being provided with software which helps him get the complete picture of his operations, his return on investment to that day. This information comes to the Bahola marketing office every day from all its distributors. It allows the company to improve its logistics and monitor progress on a day-to-day basis. The company has successfully launched the distribution system in four southern states and will be rolling out this system in to the West Bengal, North East states, Bihar and Punjab.

The 68 year-old Chennai-based company, is in the specialized segment of formulations where it holds the highest market share. It also manufactures generics, which is 70 per cent of Mother Tinctures and dilutions. The growth drivers are formulations for asthma, cough, diabetes, tonsillitis, Cataract and hair fall.

According to Murty, the key strengths of Bahola is it uncompromising quality and its over six decade old presence. The entire range of formulations and generics are much sought after by Homoeopathic doctors across India. The company is known for an ophthalmic preparation used in cataract where it holds the major market share. The product ' Cineraria Maritima Succus' is a plant extract has been claimed to control cataract and provide relief in the early stages of the disease.

Although the company's has ensured compliance of the good manufacturing practices as stipulated by the Department of Ayush, it needs to review the standards before seeking certification. Pharmabiz had reported that the Union government demanded GMP compliance of all the homoeopathy companies by 2008. Bahola's GMP e-certification would see it making consolidated efforts to enter the global markets. The company ahs also applied for US FDA certification. Its products are already distributed abroad by doctors and is available at Switzerland and Germany. The company has directly approached the Singapore Health Authority, the regulatory body to seek permission for marketing in the region and has also sought product registrations in Malaysia.