Themis Medicare Ltd (TML) has entered into an agreement with Darou Pakhsh Pharma for providing technical know how for manufacture of statins in Iran. The company also received its first installment of US$ 1.25 lakh as a signing fee. TML is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of life-saving bulk drugs of 'Synthetic' and 'Fermentation'.

R K Singh, general manager of TML, said, "We will start our production after 24 month as we have already received first installment of fees. We will undertake all bulk formulation operation in this unit" The company has plans to expand the manufacture APIs, such as Ethambutol Hydrochloride, Pyrithioxine derivatives, Methylcobalamin, Propofol and Artemisinin derivatives. In formulations, it is manufacturing anti-TB, anti-malarial, anti-cholesterol and pain management drugs.

The company in the last 36 years has made its presence felt in manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products. Themis Group is having three units located at Vapi, Hyderabad and Haridwar. These cGMP state of the art manufacturing facilities with already received ISO 9001 certification. The products are manufactured as per US FDA norms.

TML have a presence broadly in four therapeutic areas namely antibiotics, immuno-suppressants, anti-fungals and statins. It is the largest producers of statins in the country with an annual production of about 100 tons. It supplies bulk drugs to major pharma companies such as Teva, Novartis, Wyeth Lederle and Aventis. The company has a licensing arrangement for some of the products with Zydus Cadila and Unichem Laboratories.

Its Vapi plant is manufacturing intermediaries, bulk drugs and formulations for treatment of tuberculosis, P Falciparum and severe cases of Malaria. The company is producing its main product Ethambutol from Vapi plant. It has also installed its R&D unit at Vapi, which received approval from Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) of India

"Our Haridwar plant has gone into stream very recently for the manufacture of anti-tubercular agents, general anaesthetics, injections, ointments and gel product. We have invested Rs 30 crore and currently over 200 employees are working in this facility". said Prakash Naringrekar, company secretary and vice president of the corporate affair.

Anti-cholesterol, Central Nervous System (CNS) and anti-diabetics are fast-growing therapeutic segments presently. While Themis has a strong position in NDDS developments, they also plan to enter the market with many NCEs (New Chemical Entities) in the near future. Themis has filed 31 patent applications (which includes Product, Process, PCT and US applications of about 14 drugs), and it was extremely gratifying to receive approval from the IDMA for the company's R&D efforts.

Further, over the years, company has developed and marketed new molecules such as Anablok (local anaesthetic), which has been well accepted in the market and Rofejet Injection (a COX-2 analgesic/anti-inflammatory).

TML's research product 'E-Mal', a last stage anti malaria injectable, has registered in many African and Asian countries and well accepted. E MAL Injection offers shortest duration of treatment amongst Artemisinin Derivatives and also relatively higher cure rate in P falciparum malaria.