 "Abbott to begin commercial production at Jhagadia this year")
Abbott's entry into Jhagadia, near Bharuch, has encouraged other pharmaceutical products firms to set up shop in the district. ACG Associated Capsules, a member of ACG Worldwide, has also decided to set up a empty hard gelatine capsule manufacturing plant in Bharuch.
A senior official in the state government claimed that Abbott had started work on the plant sometime back. "Commercial production is likely to commence within this year," he added. Company officials could not be reached for a comment.
Abbott is setting up a nutraceutical manufacturing plant in Gujarat with an investment of around Rs 360 crore. It will make the 'Ensure' and 'PediaSure' range of nutritional drinks at the Jhagadia unit. Ensure is a nutrition drink that is prescribed as a dietary supplement to help early recovery from illness. PediaSure is a nutritional supplement for children between the age group of 2-10 years.
Meanwhile, Isreal-based Teva has started work on its plant in Sanand with a ground-breaking ceremony held last week. Teva and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) joint venture would be making the Vicks range of products from P&G stable at Sanand.
Confirming the development, a senior state government official said that the phase I of the project would be operational by 2014, while the phase II would be complete by 2016.
"The company officials were in Ahmedabad for the ground-breaking ceremony and the company is investing around Rs 450 crore on the first phase," the official said adding that 50 acres of land has been allotted to the company in Sanand.
"It would make cough drugs, medicated lozenges, inhalers at Sanand, and they also have a plan to make cough syrups in the future," he added.
Another pharmaceutical product manufacturing company has also set foot in Bharuch; Associated Capsules Private Limited (ACPL), one of the largest producers of pharmaceutical empty hard gelatine capsules in the world, is planning to set up a plant in Bharuch for the same. A company official confirmed the development. The investment on the project is likely to be around Rs 400 crore.
ACPL caters to global pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industry, serving over 80 per cent of Asia's pharmaceutical prescription market, the company website claimed. It produces over 45 billion capsules annually, catering to over 80 countries worldwide. The company has three plants in India near Mumbai.