Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, one of the leading R&D based pharmaceutical companies in the country with presence in formulations and bulk drugs, has tied up with Apotex, Canada, for the supply of a new generation bulk drug in cardiac segment. The company, which has already started supplying developmental quantities to Apotex, is expected to start supplying commercial scale quantities in about a year's time.

Apotex, the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada, produces more than 200 generics in dosages and formats that in Canada 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, chairman and managing director, Glenmark said "The tie-up with 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 had last year acquired the 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 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.