Orchid AMS eyes Rs 300 cr turnover in 3 years for antimicrobial resistance

Orchid Pharma's newly-formed antimicrobial solutions division is targeting a turnover of up to Rs 300 crore in the next three years with about 250 strong salespeople onboard while combating the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in India, according to a top company official.

Orchid AMS (Antimicrobial Solutions) is targeting to partner with around 2,500-3,000 hospitals and healthcare institutions in the next two to three years to implement effective antimicrobial stewardship programmes (AMSPs).

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest healthcare challenges beyond the hospitals as medications are available easily without prescriptions and antibiotics are also coming in through poultry, fish and through crops, Rajnish Rohatgi, CEO, Orchid AMS, a division of Orchid Pharma, told PTI.

"This is a humongous issue. We felt that not only from a business aspect of creating a difference but it provides us a motivating purpose beyond business and to give back to society in our own way, by contributing to this issue," he said on the reasons behind the launch of the new division.

Orchid AMS aims to provide innovative solutions against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and cover around 3,000 hospitals and healthcare institutions over the next 2-3 years. It will facilitate sessions to engage with the healthcare community on AMR across 13 cities by the end of this year.

When asked about business opportunities, Rohatgi said, "This division we are hoping, in three years time, to be about 250 salespeople strong, and we are targeting Rs 250-Rs 300 crore of turnover."

Elaborating, he said, "In the next financial year 2025-26 we should be at about 125 people strong and we are looking at a division sales of about Rs 100 crore and reaching 2,000 hospitals across the country in the first complete year of operations, which is FY26."

In terms of products, he said, "In the next two months or so, we will be rolling out about 30 different molecules..."

The product pipeline will be led by Orchid's new chemical entity Orblicef (Cefepime-Enmetazobactum) and others including Ceftaroline and Cefiderocol.

The introduction of a comprehensive basket of molecules will cover 2,500 to 3,000 hospitals over the next three years.

When asked about the roll-out of the products, Rohatgi said the company has already appointed distributors for some of the key cities in North, West and South India. It is yet to do so for Central and East India, which will be in phase II.

"Right now we are going to be there in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur in North; Mumbai and Pune in West; Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vizag, Chennai, Cochin and Coimbatore in South... Next year, then we will add Central India or East India, and we may open up more towns in each of the North and South," he said.