Neuland Pharmaceuticals expects the Japanese market to contribute about 20 per cent to its revenues in three years on the back of its recently formed joint venture with Japan’s Cato Research.
The JV – Cato Research Neuland India Limited – will work with healthcare companies for producing quality drugs using cost effective resources located in India. While Cato will share technology know-how, the Hyderabad-based company will be involved in administration and operation.
Neuland chief operating officer D Sucheth Rao said the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer would focus mainly on cardiovascular, central nervous system disorders and anti-infectives segments for generating new revenue channels for the Asia-Pacific region.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2008, Neuland revenues increased 62 per cent at Rs 80.08 crore from Rs 49.31 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Apart from API and drug discovery development services like contract research and clinical research, Neuland is planning to enter support services like formulation development, preclinical research and bioanalytical studies. “We will work with companies there to take early stage products up to commercial production,” Rao said.
The company is also seeing a big opportunity in medicinal chemistry and custom synthesis services. It recently inaugurated a 40,000 sft research and development centre and doubled its annual production capacity to 2,000 tonne. It is now planning to acquire 50-100 acre for augmenting its facilities.
Contract research, which is growing at around 25 per cent a year, will be the main driver of growth. Neuland has about 40 clients in this segment.
Rao said they would also go for acquisition but the company has not set any time line for this. Neuland has so far filed 300 drug master files (DMFs) for North America, Europe and Japan.
