Strides Arcolab is considering the option of merging with Bombay Drugs and Pharma Ltd. At the moment, both companies are already in a strategic pact in areas like management and marketing. The proposed merger, if it happens, will mark the fourth major deal for Strides in the last few months.

Strides had earlier merged Plama Laboratories and Remed Laboratories with itself and had gone on to acquire a soft gelatin capsule manufacturing unitin New Jersey, USA. The US unit operates as a 100 per cent subsidiary.

Bombay Drugs and Pharma has broad-based its government approved research and development facilities at Tarapur and Panoli and has process developmentalliances with a host of international companies.

Strides Arcolab, on the other hand, has a state-of-the-art soft gelatincapsules plant at Jigani near Bangalore with an installed capacity of about 1.7 billion capsules per annum. This is set to go up to 2.3 billion capsulesby 2000-01.