Lake Chemicals, an active pharmaceutical ingredient major in Karnataka, is actively exploring its export opportunities in the US and European markets. Its first strategy is to first get the product registration clearances in these countries. Secondly, it wants to keep four manufacturing plants on international regulatory compliance mode.

“This dual focus will help us to leverage our strengths to muster export earnings. We have already gone in for five product registrations of which one drug has received the Certificate of Suitability and remaining four are awaiting clearance. Once all the clearance comes through, we will be ready to storm into the European Union and US markets,” said Manoj C Palrecha, managing director, Lake Chemicals.

The company is known for its range of anti-psychotropic and ophthalmic APIs and intermediates, has devised initiatives to bolster its regulated market opportunities.

Anti psychiatry segment is considered to be among the top three growth drivers of the pharma industry now. Lake Chemicals which is known to be one of the major producers of Benzodiazepine which is much-sought after over drugs barbiturates and meprobamate for its safety and non habit forming profile. It is already an approved source for global l drug majors like Wyeth for Lorazepam, Haloperidol from Searle and Clonazepam from Roche- through Nicholas Piramal.

The company which has four plants which are GMP compliant at Attibele in the outskirts of Bangalore. These are dedicated units for high value low volume APIs, final API, intermediate and the entire range of APIs. One unit is ready for US FDA audit.

In 2008, Lake had invested around Rs 7 crore to set up the additional plants. The company has been focusing on the international markets and its export and domestic region revenues are in the ratio of 75:25.

The global economic slow down which had its epicenter in US had impacted all the countries. The meltdown phase saw tough recovery of finances. This led companies to cut cost and production due to slump in demand for the products. Of course all these factors of slowdown in business opportunities are a temporary phase. Indian pharma had the ability to bounce back and this is where Lake Chemicals too is geared up to come out of the adverse situation with our forward looking policy of filing products and seeking clearances. This effort will give the customer the much needed confidence, stated Palrecha.

In the ophthalmic API front, there is robust growth prospects which is fuelled by the growing number of eye disorders resulting not just by an aging population but by disorders like diabetes, stress and cardiac diseases.

The company has a total personnel strength of 150 which includes experts for product development with complex chemistry know-how.

According to the Lake Chemicals chief, the market for APIs across the globe is transcending from a price sensitive phase to a quality conscious one. Among the price conscious countries are Latin America and South East Asia. But the global slowdown has seen a huge interest from the big pharma of the West to look at quality conscious and price beneficial markets like India. The country’s expertise and plants will drive the opportunities. "This will allow Lake Chemicals to capitalize on the demand. Our documentation efforts and value-added services like synthesis of impurities which have been much sought after," he said.