Matrix buys Sigma's finished dosage facility

Matrix Laboratories has announced the purchase of a finished dosage forms (FDF) manufacturing facility from Mumbai-based Sigma Laboratories.

Located near Nasik, about 150 km from Mumbai, the facility is fully operational and has the capacity to manufacture 600 million tablets, 150 million capsules, 25 million ampoules and 10 million vials a year on single shift basis. The facility offers scope for further expansion.

Commissioned a couple of years back, the facility has already received approvals from regulatory agencies like Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK, Medicines Control Council (MCC), South Africa, and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia, apart from WHO certification.

The facility will be upgraded further to make it approvable by the US FDA and the European EDQM in due course of time.

"The purchase of finished dosage facility is in line with the strategic intent of participating in the contract manufacturing of finished dosage forms. It complements our existing APIs business and helps us go up the value chain," N Prasad, chairman and CEO of Matrix Laboratories, said.

"The purchase of the facility will enable us to fast-track our plan to enter into contract manufacturing of finished dosage forms. With this, we hope to serve our customers better," he added.

Prasad said that the original plan of setting up a new finished dosage facility near Hyderabad has been up on hold on account of the completion of this transaction.

Matrix has already taken up the lab work for the development of finished dosage forms and dossiers, and has firm contracts in place with a couple of customers for contract manufacturing.

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Tablets for success

• Facility has capacity to manufacture 600mn tablets, 150mn capsules, 25mn ampoules & 10mn vials annually
• Matrix's plan of setting up FDF facility near Hyderabad has been up on hold due to completion of the transaction
• Company has already taken up lab work for development of finished dosage forms & dossiers