Ipca Laboratories Ltd, a leading Mumbai-based pharma company, is planning to take its formulations to two more export markets, Brazil and Nigeria in the second half of next financial year. The company, which expects to generate sales of Rs. 6 crore from Brazil and Rs.3 to 4 crore from Nigeria during 2004, is in the process of registering 18 to 24 products. According to Ajit Jain, executive director, Ipca, as part of the increased export focus, the company is trying to register more products with the regulated markets at present.

Currently, more than 50 per cent of the company's turnover comes from exports to over 75 countries which include USA, Europe, Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Italy, Russia and other CIS countries, Sri Lanka etc. This mainly consists of exports of formulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API's) and drug intermediates.

At present the company has 15 DMFs filed with the US FDA. The last ones in this series were Propranolol Hydrochloride and Metoprolol filed in end of 2002. Next financial year, Jain said, that the company would file five more DMFs with the US FDA. He added that it already has tie-up with a generic company for their ANDA to supply one of the APIs it plans to file.

The company also plans to file five ANDAs during the financial year 2004. Most of these ANDAs would be for old products. The benefits of these fillings would accrue over 18-24 months, he added.

However, according to pharma analysts, the company may register a 26 per cent drop in API sales, which is at present Rs 83.1 crore, in the whole year of 2003. This fall would be mainly contributed by lower sales in the US markets, which are expected to fall to Rs.4 crore from Rs.15 crore at present. But, the company is confident that the API exports to regulated markets will pick up with higher supplies to US markets and with the recent tie-up with Astra Zeneca for supply of Propranolol. The company is also planning to register many new products in various markets of Europe over the next 12-18 months, he said.

Currently the company's priority is to catch up with the regulated markets with high value and better margin formulation products. In the first nine months of the financial year 2003, Ipca registered a significant growth in its formulation exports. During this period, the company has registered a total sales of Rs.362 crore recording a net profit of Rs 50 crore which is up by 15 per cent compared to Rs 313 crore last year with a net profit of Rs 25.48 crore.