Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals Ltd (APL) has almost completed the restructuring of its manufacturing facilities and the rejuvenated units would go on stream in phases from Dasara. "Production facilities are being upgraded, capacities are being added and existing capacities are being expanded. At the same time, plants and processes that are not economically viable are being discarded." Announcing these developments at the 15th Annual General Meeting, the company Chairman, P V Ramaprasad Reddy, said the new state-of-the-art facilities would meet both the needs of the regulatory markets and the price-sensitive global markets.
He said the R&D initiatives of the company were working on developing non-infringing processes and would be patented wherever necessary. The company had already filed 14 process patents, of which two of them had been approved and the rest were under consideration.
The Rs 1,050 crore company, he said, had made efforts to seek approvals from globally respected regulators like the US FDA, European Department of Quality Medicine, the Council of Europe and the South African MCC. During the year, APL had received the Brazilian GMP certification for its unit 3 and regulatory approvals for the two formulations units of 3 and 6 from MCC, South Africa. The company was also expecting approval for its unit 3 from MCA, UK, and US FDA approvals for products from two of its facilities, units 1 and 6.
On the company''s outlook, Reddy said "Aurobindo of tomorrow would be a vastly different company, globally competitive, with a de-risked business model and strong portfolio. It would be a dominant player in the generics market and a significant player in the competitive global market."
Aurobindo had invested about Rs 150 crore in the recent past in setting up subsidiaries in China and Brazil and a joint venture in the United States, besides upgrading two of its manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad.
Describing the first quarter performance in the current year as the forerunner of the shape of things to come, Reddy said the year 2002-03 would be a landmark year for the company with all units achieving their expanded capacities in a phased manner. The total income of Rs 247.24 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 was up by 32 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year, while the net profit of Rs 15.09 crore was up by 34 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
Aurobindo had posted a net profit of Rs 68.51 crore on turnover of Rs 1,052.40 crore for the year 2001-02. The company achieved only a marginal growth because all the manufacturing units were put through the reform process, which necessarily affected the day-to-day operations.
According to the company''s Annual Report for 2001-02, APL ranks among the top five pharma companies in India and is a multi-product, multi-technology transnational company. Today the company''s products are serving the consumers in India and 70 other countries. It is an R&D driven chemistry business house, with a very broad product portfolio. The company has a presence in the fast growing lifestyle disease drugs, anti-virals, anti-infective drugs and key speciality therapeutics.
The company is a known leader in the semi-synthetic penicillins (SSPs)and cephalosporins, both oral and sterile. Presently over 70 drugs in the area of SSPs, cephalosporins, anti-AIDS and speciality anti-infectives and over 30 drugs in the area of lifestyle diseases drive the APL business and its growth.
In addition to broad-basing its activities, the speciality generic formulations business has helped the company climb the value chain and optimize the synergies.
The company has the following subsidiaries - APL Chemi Natura Ltd (India), APL Pharma Thai Ltd (Thailand), Aurobindo USA LLC, Miami, USA, Aurobindo Farmaceutica Do Brasil Ltda, Brazil, A B Pharmo Quimica Lyda, Brazil and Aurobindo (Datong) Biopharma Co. Ltd (China).
During the year APL had formed a 50:50 joint venture with the Citadel group called Citadel-Aurobindo Biotech Ltd (CABL). CABL will focus on specific therapeutic areas like cardiovascular, diabetology, gastroenterology, infection, nutrition and pain management.
Aurobindo Tongling (Datong) Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, another 50:50 joint venture company, was formed with Shanghai Ziaghang Jiading Che.& Med. Co. Ltd, China for the manufacture of bulk drugs and intermediates for cephalosporin. The company has also entered into an agreement to form a joint venture company called Cephazone Pharma LLC, USA, in association with Geravi Inc, a subsidiary of Medpharmex, USA, to make sterile and non-sterile cephalosporin. The investment in the said JV will be met by the company''s wholly owned subsidiary, APL Holdings Inc.
The China plant, which would start production next month would manufacture 6 APA, the main and basic raw material for the company''s bulk drugs, at a very economical cost, besides ensuring steady supplies.
The company acquired 79.37% equity in Ranit Pharma, a profit-making, dividend paying company. Aurobindo will gain substantially from the company''s manufacturing capabilities in anti-virals, anti-fungals, and anti-emetics. Another significant event was the successful private placement of two million equity shares of Rs 10 each at Rs 226 per share and an equal number of convertible shares warrants to the promoters/Directors and Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund to mobilize a sum of Rs 49.72 crore.
In the beginning of 2003, the joint venture in USA would start production. The units in India designed for the regulatory markets are being readied and the last of them would ready by December 2002. US FDA inspection can be expected in the foreseeable future and the company would be able to make shipments in the financial year 2003-04. While Aurobindo always guaranteed quality, today the company can meet the most stringent specifications . In fact, all the capabilities now being acquired /enhanced would help Aurobindo Pharma double its turnover in three years.