As part of its expansion plans, sterile liquids pharmaceutical dosages manufacturer and maker, Marck Biosciences Ltd. has acquired a large volume injectible facility in Goa. Post acquisition, the company will step up its manufacturing capacity for large volume injectibles by over 33 per cent by March 2011.
Marck has acquired the assets of Goa-based Ravish Infusion on a lock-stock-barrel basis for a total sum of Rs 5.47 crore under auction process from Debt Recovery Tribunal II, Mumbai. The pharma company has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Coimbatore based Paragon Steels Pvt Ltd. (Gujarat Inject Kerala Limited) for purchase of its injectibles equipment for Rs 1.5 crore, which Marck plans to set up at the Goa facility. "The estimated total global market size for injectibles was approximately $ 140 billion (Rs 6.29 lakh crore approx.) in 2009. Marck Biosciences is operating at over 90 per cent capacity since last three years in large volume injectibles. The acquisitions will help Marck Biosciences expand capacity to meet the growing demand. With these two acquisitions, the total capacity for large volume injectibles will increase by 20 million bottles per year," said Bhavesh Patel, managing director, Marck Biosciences.
Currently, Marck has an installed capacity to manufacture large volume parenterals of 59 million bottles per annum as well as small volume parenterals of 226 million vials per annum at its 18.40 acres facility at Kheda in Gujarat.
The Goa facility will enable Marck to manufacture large volume parenterals having Euroheads, which the company proposes to market in South East Asia, East and West Africa and CIS countries. The company exports to around 77 countries and during the financial year 2009-10 about 31 per cent of Marck's total sales was supplied to export markets.
Moreover, Marck recently filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for a public issue of 1,30,00,000 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each through book building process. Marck plans to utilise the partly net proceeds of the IPO for setting up a sterile liquid manufacturing plant, for fluid therapy and formulations and partly for corporate needs and partly for Issue expenses. The facility is intended to be built to WHO cGMP specifications and will enhance Marck's capacity by an additional 46 million bottles per annum.