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Ahmedabad-based animal biological and healthcare company Hester Biosciences Ltd, is eyeing the international markets to drive future growth. The company, which launched its goat pox vaccine on Wednesday, is planning to enter markets like Africa, West Asia and South America, through joint ventures with local partners in the coming years.
As Rajiv Gandhi, chief operating officer and managing director of Hester Biosciences said, “We are looking to forge joint ventures for local manufacturing in the emerging countries in Africa, West Asia and South America. Also, product registrations have started coming in and we expect to double our exports from FY17 onwards.”
Currently, international sales constitute about 7 per cent of the company's turnover. According to Gandhi, revenues from the international business would overtake that of its domestic business within the next five years. For FY14, the company posted a turnover of Rs 69.05 crore, with a net profit of Rs 10 crore. Going forward, it expects to cross the turnover of Rs 200 crore by FY17. Hester currently exports to eight countries and product registration activities are going on in over 20 countries.
As of now, poultry vaccines comprise nearly 90 per cent of its turnover. This apart, it has presence in large animal vaccines, and has recently forayed into poultry and large animal health products. Hester’s product portfolio comprises of over 47 vaccines and over 35 health products.
It is in the process of investing Rs 25 crore in the Kadi plant to expand capacity. The plant is currently using nearly 95 per cent capacity of inactivated vaccines and around 55 per cent of its live vaccines capacity. The overall capacity at the plant is around 4.8 billion doses per year, which is estimated to go up by 1 billion doses post expansion.
As for the overseas plants, Hester is planning to invest close to Rs 15-17 crore depending on the opportunity.
The company today launched PPR (Peste Des Petits Ruminants) vaccine and Goat Pox vaccine. PPR vaccine is to be given annually to sheep and goats. PPR disease causes dysentery and death of the animal. The total targeted population of sheep and goat for PPR vaccine in the world is 1450 million and in India, the targeted population is 200 million.
Gandhi said “The world market for PPR vaccine is slated to be for Rs 300 crore annually. The Indian market is slated to be Rs 40 crore annually. The PPR vaccine will contribute toward also the disease eradication programs of the Government of India. Hester is also the first company in India to manufacture the Goat Pox vaccine.”
The total targeted population of goats for Goat Pox vaccine in the world is 970 million, with 50 per cent of that population being in Asia. In India, the targeted population is 140 million. The world market for Goat Pox vaccine is slated to be for Rs 500 crore annually. The Indian market is slated to be Rs 70 crore annually.
“We have already invested Rs 7 crore in plant and machinery for stepping up our vaccine production capacity as well as towards increasing our vaccine range,” Gandhi said. The global animal healthcare market stands at around $ 22 billion, off which the market size in India is estimated to be $ 375 million.
