Syngene reiterates $200-million capex plan

Syngene International, the contract research services arm of biotech major Biocon, today reaffirmed it commitment to invest USD 200 million in capital expenditure till fiscal 2019.
The Bengaluru-based company has already invested USD 79 million of this capex plan announced two years ago. The money will be spent towards augmenting capacity, capability additions and technology upgrades, the company said.
"We have drawn up a capex plan of USD 200 million between fiscals 2016 and 2019 towards capacity expansion, capability addition and technology upgrades. The funds for this will come through internal accruals and debt," Syngene said in an investor presentation to the BSE.

The company has commissioned a cGMP manufacturing facility at its new formulation facility in Bangalore. Spread across 17,000 sq ft, the plant has the capability to manufacture a range of solid oral dosages, including tablets, pellets, capsules, granules, powders and NDDS (novel drug delivery systems). The new facility also has a formulation development centre covering 6,000 sq ft.
Syngene has also signed an agreement with a Canadian biotechnology firm to develop and manufacture clinical studies of five novel antibodies.
"We have made good progress through fiscal 2017 on our strategic priorities, including continued strong growth within our discovery biology group, successful integration of bio-informatics acquisition and expansion of our strategic collaboration with Amgen.

"Additionally, in the March quarter we had signed a strategic pact with a Canadian biotech firm which has the potential to boost our biologics business going forwards, Syngene Chief Executive Jonathan Hunt said.

With expanding capabilities and capacities, Syngene looks forward to accelerated growth ahead, Hunt added.
The company reported a flat fourth quarter as a fallout of a fire incident at its facility in December. Profit declined to Rs 78 crore in the March quarter from Rs 79 crore a year earlier, while revenue dropped 6 per cent to Rs 315 crore from Rs 334 crore.
Net profit for the full year rose 19 per cent to Rs 287 crore on a 14 percent revenue growth at Rs 1,272 crore.