Pharmaceuticals major Alembic is in talks with two domestic drug firms to acquire molecules and brands in one of the therapeutic segments in which it has a strong presence.
The therapeutic segments where it has a presence are antibiotics and antibacterials, cough and cold remedies, analgesic, anti-inflammatory medications, nutraceuticals and anti-diabetics.
Alembic executives declined to name either the companies or the brands as it has signed a confidentiality pact. "We are doing a due diligence at present. We have not set any timeframe for acquiring the brands/molecules," Atul Barman, vice-president (formulations), said.
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The company's merger and acquisition initiatives began two months ago when it set up a separate business unit for the purpose. The acquisition of brands/molecules is aimed at improving its presence. Six of Alembic's brands feature among the top 300 brands in the country.
The company is also looking at reviving its position in the pharma industry and beef up its operational performance in the next few months. It will consolidate its position in key focus areas: diabetes management, anti-infectives and nutraceuticals.
The launch of Isovon for menopause management and Natelide, for the control of type 2 diabetes, would strengthen its existing offerings.
With these developments, the Vadodara-based Alembic plans to rake in a revenue of Rs 640 crore during the current fiscal compared with Rs 500 crore achieved in the previous year. "We are looking at about 20 per cent growth in sales and bottomline during the current fiscal," Barman said.
An integrated pharmaceutical company, Alembic is also looking at spending funds for research on new chemical entities. Alembic, which is currently focusing on novel drug delivery system, has spent around Rs 7 crore for research and development.