The Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. will complete the process of de-merger programme, to form a new innovative research and development firm as a listed company, within a few months.

The de-merger, a rare strategy experimented by Indian pharma companies for cushioning of huge monetary risk, is passing through regulatory affairs and hopes to attain necessary approvals within a few months, according to Dilip Shanghvi, chairman and MD, Sun Pharmaceuticals, answering questions in a press conference, he said that the company will share information about the profile of new NCE, NDDS oriented research and the research projects planned under it a month before floating, to allow the investors to value the new company.

The process of de-merger, in which the Sun Pharma shareholders will get one share in the de-merged entity for each share, will make it sure that within 18 to 24 months, the two companies will have separate management, director board and officials. The company has to take its investors into confidence and should inform the possibilities of such an exclusive innovative R&D though there are chances for loss in the initial stage, maintained Shanghvi.

The new company will also move for a separate R&D plant, for which the plans will be formulated once the de-merger completes. The innovative R&D company is for exclusive research on New Chemical Entity and New Drug Delivery System, which are most expensive activities in R&D sector.

The company has earlier announced that the de-merger scheme will be effective from April 1.According to informed sources, the new R&D company was expected to be floated within six months. The timeline is flexible, as the floating of new company should have to attain approval from the regulatory officials and the FCCB bondholders, which consumes its own time, according to Shanghvi. The company is putting down a timeline in which the innovative R&D company will be able to sustain on its own through advanced marketing of innovations, he added.

The Rs 1,800 crore Sun Pharma has plotted a roadmap to cover a few therapeutic areas, including target on certain cancer tissues and novel biodegradable platforms for which the system has developed to a considerable extend. The company is also looking for an acquisition at US to strengthen the activities at the US generic market, using funds raised through FCCB last year. “Though many proposals are on discussion, we are not interested in the options unless the company suits with our strategic criteria according to our expectation” Shanghvi explained.