Kee Biogenetics, the biotechnology division of Kee Pharma, has received the Drug Controller General Of India (DGCI) approval for erythropoietin (EPO), a biopharma recombinant, to be launched in December this year.

The company has entered into an exclusive arrangement with RIHPH of Russia, which will manufacture the product for Kee Biogenetics, sources informed.

The company is yet to decide on the brand name and the pricing strategy but it is learnt that the brand would be priced competitively against the other two companies Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Wockhardt. Biotech products normally constitute low production cost, but contribute to the bottomline with its route margins.

EPO has a market size of around Rs. 25 crore growing at 30 per cent with J&J accounting for around 80 per cent market share, followed by Wockhardt.

The customs duty on EPO works out to around 42 per cent and the company would look forward to setting up a manufacturing base in India by the end of 2002. This is the third biotech product from the company's stable after the launch of streptokinase for cardiology and interferonalpha for gastro and oncology since March this year. Kee Pharma plans to launch seven more biotech products in due course, it is learnt.

Kee Pharma, with a dedicated marketing force of around 40 for its biogenetic division and a comparatively larger sales force for its pharma division, has posted a turnover of Rs. 22 crore for the fiscal ended March 2001.