Mumbai-based Themis Medicare is planning to enter the biotech market with products like erythropoietin, interferon alpha, human growth hormones and plant hormones. It will start from scratch manufacture of these products at its subsidiary's manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.

The company has already tied up with companies in Italy, China and Argentina for technology transfer and sharing of intellectual and financial expertise in the field, said sources.

"In the next 12-18 months we hope to achieve the pilot scale efficiency of key bioproteins like erythropoietin and interferon. After getting the necessary approvals we will begin the commercial production at our Hyderabad manufacturing facility. We have entered into a technology transfer agreement with foreign companies. However, this is not the right time to disclose their names," said Dinesh S. Patel, managing director & CEO, Themis Medicare Ltd.

The Hyderabad plant belongs to the subsidiary of the company called Themis Biotech. The plant is upgraded for manufacturing fermentation-based products like Lovastatin, Simvastatin, DMCTC, Gentamycin, and Sisomycin.

Themis Medicare's Vapi plant produces all the effective ranges of 'anti-tuberculosis formulations' namely ethambutol hydrochloride, rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethionamide and prothionamide. Production of bulk actives such as ethambutol, rifampicin and pyrazinamide are also undertaken at Vapi.

Themis Medicare is in the process of merging its subsidiary Themis Biotech with it. The merger is expected to complete soon. "We have already received the merger approval from the Gujarat High Court. The Andhra Pradesh approval is awaited by next month. The entire merger is expected to get completed by July," said Patel.