After its acquisition of ProClinical Inc. in US, Bilcare Ltd., India's leading pharma packaging company, is eyeing for another pharmaceutical packaging company acquisition in Brazil. The acquisition is expected to take place in next financial year, it is learnt.

"Brazil is the largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America and as part of our global expansion, we have plans to strengthen our business in Brazil. We are exploring the possibilities in Brazil and are in talks with a number of pharma packaging companies. If everything goes as planned, it will happen next year. But its too early to disclose the financial details," a reliable company source told Pharmabiz. The company has plans to widen the business in Germany also. However, he refused to divulge further details.

The Rs 160-crore Pune-based company had acquired Pennsylvania-based packaging and research company ProClinical Inc. three months back. It is now known as Bilcare Inc. USA. The facility is approved by US FDA and US DEA.

Bilcare has operations spread across India, Singapore and USA with regional offices in Brazil, Germany, China and Australia. Its R&D facility in India is approved by DSIR, Government of India and its facility in Singapore has been conferred with Pioneer Status by the Economic Development Board, Government of Singapore. It had set up its first foreign subsidiary, Bilcare Pte, in Singapore last year. The subsidiary is expected to act as the main logistic and distribution base for global distribution.

A new clinical service facility to support the pharma companies in packaging and distribution of their clinical supplies and integrate their global clinical trial requirements efficiently was inaugurated at Pune recently.

Presently, Bilcare has presence in the world markets with its existing customers such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca and Genome Inc, and also through its Indian customers like Dr Reddy's Lab, Ranbaxy and Nicholas Piramal, for highly innovative and scientific pharma packaging solutions. Bilcare caters to the polymer barrier film requirement of the pharma industry, i.e., mainly blister packs and enjoys 60 per cent of this market.

At present, the total pharma packaging market in Europe and the US is estimated at $40 billion.