Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, the leading R&D based pharmaceutical company with a presence in formulations and bulk drugs, has commenced supply of Amiodarone, a new generation bulk drug in the cardiac segment to Apotex, Canada. The supply is for the Canadian market.

The company expects to start supplying Amiodarone also to the US market shortly. The total value of the supplies to Canada and the US market would amount to about USD 4 to 6 million in the next 18 months. Glenmark filed the DMF for this product with USFDA six months ago. Meanwhile, Glenmark has filed two more DMFs during November with USFDA. The filings are part of the company's plans of filing 5 to 6 DMFs in the current fiscal year.

Apotex is the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada. It produces more than 200 generics in dosages and formats, which are used in over 42 million prescriptions a year. Apotex has also established a presence through subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensing agreements in the Czech Republic, Mexico, China, Costa Rica, New Zealand, France, Italy and Russia, amongst others. The annual worldwide sales of the Apotex Group exceed 600 million Canadian dollars.

Speaking on the development Glenn Saldanha, MD & CEO Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said: "The supply of Amiodarone to Apotex is a significant development for the company's API business. Partnering with the largest Canadian generic company is part of our strategic initiative to augment presence in the developed markets."

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, last year acquired a state-of-the-art Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing facility of Glaxo SmithKline (based at Ankleshwar, Gujarat). The company has commercialized over 15 APIs and has many more in the pipeline. For the year ended March 2003, Glenmark's API business accounted for Rs 28.57 crore.

Glenmark Pharmaceutical Limited, a research based pharmaceutical company specializes in segments such as dermatology, internal medicine, pediatrics, gynaecology, ENT and diabetes. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is the market leader in therapeutic groups like dermatology and respiratory with brands like Candid B and Ascoril respectively.