The Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd is planning to expand its product portfolio in Brazil with 22 products in pipeline to be launched by next year, as the market is reporting higher growth along with a potential to serve the Latin American market as a whole.

Glenmark Pharma, one of the select Indian companies having wholly owned subsidiary Glenmark Farmaceutica Ltda (GFL) in Brazil, is currently marketing 28 of its products in therapeutic areas like derma, respiratory, gynaecology, endocrinology and oncology. The company will explore the potential of the region for strategic development in future, informed the company spokesperson.

"We plan to entrench ourselves further in derma, respiratory, gynaecology, endocrinology and oncology. New products with differentiation and increased presence at the clinicians are some of our principal focus areas," the company official said.

With a current market size of US $13.40 mn and a growth rate of 27 per cent year-on-year, the Brazilian pharmaceutical market is huge with excellent growth and tremendous learning to then transfer to any Latin American country. The company is marketing its products to over 10 countries across Latin America and Caribbean.

Glenmark Brazil has its own ANVISA approved manufacturing facility in Sao Bernardo do Campo in Greater Sao Paulo that manufactures solid orals including tablets, coated tablets, external semi solids like creams, gels, lotions and liquid orals. The company is planning to file over 400 dossiers across Latin America and Caribbean in the years ahead.

The company, which acquired Laboratories Klinger in Brazil in 2004 through its wholly owned subsidiary, Glenmark Farmaceuitca has also purchased a leading hormonal brand, Uno-Ciclo, in March 2005, from Instituto Biochimico Indústria Farmacêutica Ltd, [Biochimico] for US $4.6 million. The company currently intends to file over 400 dossiers across Latin America and Caribbean in the years ahead, according to sources.