Bal Pharma, the mid-sized pharma major in Karnataka, will now offer the products for the regulated markets from its facility at Uttaranchal. In fact the game plan is to target 15 new countries which includes some of the regulated regions before the fiscal 2009-2010.
The company has taken this decision following the government decision to cut the excise duty to 8 per cent on drugs in March.
According to Shailesh Siroya, managing director, Bal Pharma, focus on the regulated markets is to increase existing global footprint. With a forward looking policy, the Uttaranchal unit located in the excise free zones identified by the Union government in 2005, is now getting ready. The plant is constructed according to the US FDA and MHRA guidelines.
"We are working towards an inspection and certification from the UK MHRA team in 2009. We will work towards the US FDA certification to be through by 2010. The unit will manufacture the entire range of solid dosage forms for the international customers and the national market requirement, he added.
The company has honed its skills in the development and production of a range of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage formulations.
Among its new international destinations which it intends to focus is the Latin American market. While it is already present in most of the Latin American countries, it intends to spread its arms to the entire region.
Its Latin America presence covers Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina for its API business. For the finished dosage formulations, the company is trading in Panama, Honduras, Chile, Costa Rica. Concerted efforts are on to target other countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru by end of September 2008.
Bal Pharma which has a unit at Bommasandra in the outskirts of Bangalore is now being modernized to meet the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) standards which is the Brazilian regulatory authority.
Approximately 33 per cent of total revenues of Rs 76 crore in 2006-07 was from the global operations. "Our Latin American business would drive to double the exports turnover significantly and currently we are making plans to appoint local representatives for the business operations in various Latin American countries," stated Siroya.
The company is developing a strategy to enter into all regulated markets for its API products: Gliclazide, Amiloride, Benzydamine, and Ebastine. In the finished dosage formulation segment, it has established its presence in non-regulated and semi-regulated markets.