Micro Labs has gone in for a 'licensing in' agreement with the Belgium-based Euro Drug Lab, a formulations major for the exclusive manufacture and marketing of a new molecule for irritable bowel syndrome called Fenoverine. The new product will be marketed under the brand name 'Spasmopriv' has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India and is expected to be launched in the first week of December 2003. The novel drug is for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Micro Labs expects to corner a 10 per cent share in the next 12 months from the anti IBS market that is pegged at Rs. 30 crore.

The product will be manufactured at one of Micro Labs' facilities in Hosur. The 'licensed-in' agreement calls for exclusive sourcing of the bulk drug by the Euro for Micro for which the former will receive a royalty on net sales.

What will set Spasmopriv apart in the Indian market is the increased patient safety compared to the existing IBS drugs. The competition for the company for this segment is from Solvay Pharma, Walter Bushnell, TTK, Intas, USV, Dr. Reddys, Torrent and German Remedies, G Jayaraj, general manager, Micro Labs told Pharmabiz.com

Micro registered a turnover of Rs. 430 crore during the year ended March 2003 and is expected to achieve sales of Rs. 550 crore in the year ending March 2004.

The biggest brands of the company are Amlong (Anti-hypertensive) Anxit (Anxiloytics), Dolo-650, Silybon, Dolopar, Pulmocef (Anti-bacterials and Bicef (Anti - bacterials).

As a part of the restructuring plan, Micro Labs is currently finalising modalities with financial institutions so as to merge all its group companies Brown & Burk, Eros Pharma, Micro Nova under one banner in the first quarter of 2004.