Green Chem, a 100 per cent percent Export Oriented Unit, plans to invest Rs.3 crore to set up dedicated centres of production of herbal ingredients and formulations in Bangalore. The company has been allotted land by Karnataka Area Industrial Development Board (KIADB) for expansion. It is now gearing up to commence the construction of its Schedule T compliant production unit.
The investment has been raised partly through internal accruals and terms loans, R Rajendran, founder and CEO, Green Chem told Pharmabiz.
“There has been a significant demand from the global markets for herbal ingredients and formulations and this led us to look to expand the manufacture,” he added. The company is currently developing weight management herbal extract apart from working on newer herbal products for cholesterol control, libido booster, anti ischemia, anti arthritis, diabetes management,etc.
For the cholesterol control, the company is in the process of developing ‘Green DeFat’ which is a polyherbal formula. The product would be patented prior to its launch, he said.
In the weight management space, it already has the ‘Slimaluma’, which has found a presence in many countries. Now it is working for its registration in Canada and the company is hopeful that it could be marketed in 2012.
In the area of osteoporosis and women’s health development of herbal ingredients in collaboration with companies abroad are underway. For many of these, clinical studies have been completed and once the manufacturing facility at Bangalore is commissioned these would be rolled out.
“We are looking at the herbal segment and increase our presence only to help people improve the life style management,” said Rajendran. Another major thrust by the company is in the cosmetics area. The company has been able to achieve extensive backward integration because its organic farm cultivation of Aloevera, Bixa orellana, Wrightia tinctoria, Albizia amara, Holy basil, Curcuma longa, Murraya koenigii, Bamboo, Lanata camara, Amla among other herbs. “In fact, these are the basic herbs used in cosmetics by Green Chem for skin polishing, UV protection, black head removal, skin whitening, acne control, shampoo preparations. We would launch Aloe Beauty, Aloe Shield, Aloe Soft early next year,” he added.
The company has been a recipient of the Pharmaexcil award for the last three years and has 18 patents granted and 15 pending.
With an increasing demand for herbal products in the country, Green Chem floated a separate company ‘Natsyn Catalysts’ which has a dedicated R&D and production plant. It would invest in an additional facility on a seven acre land allotted by SIPCOT in Tamil Nadu to set-up the manufacturing unit for herbal ingredients and formulations. It would also produce reference markers at this facility.
The company has also planned to set up an organic farm in Tamil Nadu for the raw material supplies for R&D and production. Natsyn Catalysts’ R&D is looking at formulation developments like milk shakes for aiding sleep, weight management, memory boosting, improving immunity and skin care. Pharma companies like Glenmark and Zydus are working with Natsyn Catalysts to market the products. For instance, Zydus Nutriva’s Slimtone softgel capsules and tablets have Natsyn’s Caralluma extract which is for weight management. This is a major breakthrough in the anti-obesity market, stated Rajendran.