The Herbal Division of Anglo-French Drugs & Industries Ltd has devised a strategy for growth in terms of increasing its customer profile, market expansion and wide product basket offering.

So long the company ethically promoted its range of 14 products accessing individual Ayurveda physicians. In order to increase its customer profile, it will now enter the hospital supplies sector which is proving to be a captive source of business for many herbal majors in the country.

Going by the increasing number of dispensaries, dedicated Ayurveda hospitals and the opening up of departments of Ayurveda in primary health centres, there is a huge opportunity to tap, Kiran Das, general manager, herbal division, Anglo-French Drugs and Industries told Pharmabiz.

It will also highlight the critical role of herbal drugs as an alternative therapy to the students of Ayurveda colleges besides taking assistance of post graduate faculty and students to support the company's research initiatives.

While it intends to consolidate its presence in the domestic market, plans are underway to increase its global foot print by adding on more markets. Present presence covers African countries, Russia and Mauritius with product registrations in Italy. Efforts are on to focus on the Latin American region.

The key reason for expanding its presence globally is the growing preference for herbal drugs. Indian companies stand to gain going by the range of products and the quality standards maintained. We are now charting our global pathway, informed Das.

There are specific therapeutic areas like liver, women's health, arthritis, skin disorders, cold, cough and gastro intestinal diseases where customers still prefer the herbal drugs.

The company has a range of single and proprietary medicines. Its Hepax (hepto-protective) and M2M (women's hormone regulation are the fastest growing. Other notable products include Glycontrol (hyperglycaemia), Sucal (osteoporosis) L-style (anti-oxidant), Suderma (allergies and eczema), MIG 18 (migraine management), Sumind (Nerve tonic), and ASAP (an aphrodisiac) Sunerva (sleep inducer), Sulip (cholestrol), Sulung (asthma) and Sudard (arthritis).

The hepato-protective segment valued at Rs 150 crore has 80 per cent of herbal formulations. Anglo-French's 'Hepax' figures among the top four in India along with The Himalaya Drug Company 'Liv-52', Charak 'Lovogen' and Aimil Pharma's 'Amlycure'.

Drugs for life style disorders (diabetes, hypertension and arthritis) and skin disease (psoriasis) and proprietary cosmetics (creams and formulations) are in the pipeline undergoing stability tests and expected to touch the market by Q1 of 2008. Its products are manufactured under contract at select Schedule T compliant facilities in India, stated Dr J Suresh Babu, manager, medical and marketing services Herbal division, Anglo-French.

With companies becoming aware on the need for scientific approach towards herbal drug production, there is still a big challenge for achieving desired quality and strength in active ingredients from the herbal extracts. We ensure highest quality standards are maintained while sourcing the herbs from the contract farm lands, added Das.