National Safety Council of India has awarded Divi’s Laboratories ‘Shreshta Suraksha Puraskar’ for developing and implementing highly effective management systems and procedures and achieving outstanding performance in occupational safety and health for the assessment period between 1999-2001.

Divi’s is the only synthetic API producer to receive this national level award. And a unit of Andhra Pradesh has received this award after 22 years, NV Ramana, ED of the company told Pharmabiz.com.

The company has two units, both of which are ISO 9001, 14001, 18001 certified for Quality Standards, Environmental Standards, Safety & Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSAS).

Divi’s manufactures over 60 products, and has launched 5 products in 2003 alone. It has a wide product range including Generic APIs, Intermediates, Protected Amino Acids, Nucleotides and Carotenoids. The company has 4 labs, and more than 130 people are involved in the development of products. A research centre was established in Vishakapatnam in 2003, which has further enhanced the research capabilities of the firm and has enabled to take up more projects. The company has set up a manufacturing facility at Vishakapatnam, which has state-of-the-art infrastructure, and has scope for taking up expansion of production capacity.

The company serves more than six innovator companies in the US, Europe and Japan It has triple certification, and is the only pharma company, which follows IPR strictly in India.

The company has filed 12 DMFs in USA and 4 CoS in Europe. The company aims at increasing attention over custom synthesis, and wants to keep equilibrium between generics based activity and custom synthesis. But, so far the company could be associated with key pharma players for custom synthesis. Currently, around 72 per cent of the turnover is contributed by generics, with rest being contributed by custom synthesis.

Divi’s exports constitute 90 per cent of company’s turnover with exports going to more than 30 countries, with Europe and North America being key markets.

Though contract manufacturing is the main activity, the company also offers contract research services to it existing customers, as an additional service. And this has been a major strength of the company. Post 2005, the company would be able to enhance its custom manufacturing activity. The market will be more acceptable once there is product patent.

Divi's was established in the year 1990 as a R& D company to develop processes for Active Pharma Ingredients (APIs) & Intermediates and to provide turnkey solutions to the industry.