Alpa eyes Brazilian generic market

Indore-based Alpa Laboratories Ltd is eyeing the Brazilian generic market after the company completes its present expansion plans.

Talking to Business Standard, Jayesh Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Alpa Labs, said, "We held talks with the Brazilian authority and assessing the requirements of the Brazilian pharmaceutical market." Although the company is not presently making any move now it plans to enter Brazil once its facility is up.

The company wants to capitalise on the rapidly-growing generic drug market in Brazil after the Brazilian government made it mandatory for local pharmacists in Brazil to make generic drugs available as an alternative to the patented drugs for patients who cannot afford patented drugs due to the high price.

The company has its presence in some of the Latin American countries like Costa Rica and Haiti.

Apart from Brazil, the company is aiming at the regulated market of US and Europe for which it plans to get USFDA approval for its upcoming manufacturing unit.

The company is already in the process of identifying potential partners in the regulated market of US and Europe. But as per the company it would take another year or more to make its way into the highly-regulated markets.

Alpa Labs has a range of ethical drugs, generic drugs, over-the-counter drugs (OTC) and veterinary products. The company has approval for over 1,300 formulations but presently it markets only 300-350 formulations.

The company is envisaging an expansion plan by augmenting its existing production capacity and widening its product range to venture into probiotics, prebiotics and pre-filled syringes.

Under the expansion plan, it is coming up with a new plant in Pigdamber, Indore for Rs 70.88 crore for increasing its production and testing capacities.

The company will be adding up production lines of liquid injections, dry powder injections, ampules, tablets, capsules, creams ophthalmic, eye/ear drops and dry syrups.

In the post expansion the total capacity in all these segments will reach to 63.57 lakh units per day from the present capacity of 25.32 lakh units per day. The expansion project will be financed through a term loan of Rs 20 crore, promoters' contribution of Rs 3 crore and the balance form the initial public issue (IPO) proceeds.

It clocked turnover of Rs 101.36 crore for the financial year 2006-07. Export constitutes 11 percent of the companies turnover. In post - IPO, the promoters will hold approximately 55 percent stake in the company.