Gujarat based pharmaceutical contract manufacturers have lined up expansions to meet the growing demand. Besides, as Japanese pharma players show interest in the state, mid-size pharma companies are now eying opportunities in the Japanese market.
The Gujarat wing of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) is organising a meeting of the state based players with a Japanese delegation in the coming months, such that local players can explore business opportunities.
Mid-sized pharma firm West Coast Pharmaceuticals is planning a separate facility to manufacture a new category of products. "We are planning to have a separate facility for oncology and hormone products at Chhatral. The investment would be around Rs 15-20crore." said Kamlesh Patel, chief executive officer of West Coast. The company has an existing facility at Gota that makes formulations.
Among other players are Lincoln Pharmaceuticals, Yash Medicare, Montage Laboratories who have lined up expansion plans for this fiscal. Gujarat is considered a hub for pharma formulations manufacturing, says Chirag Doshi of Yash Medicare and a senior official at the IDMA. "Of the 700 odd manufacturing facilities spread across the state, over 120 units have WHO-GMP certification, which helps them to supply to multinationals by meeting their quality requirements", he added. The World Health Organisation-Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certification is a mandatory requirement for global markets entry and specifically for countries which have no dedicated regulatory authority.
The contract manufacturing industry is clocking a 12-13 per cent growth rate, and in order to maintain a healthy business volume, companies have drawn out capex plans and are adding new segments to their portfolio.
Yash Medicare is expanding its manufacturing capacity by 25 per cent and adding new products for the global markets. "We will finish the capex by December. Currently, we have a capacity of 12 lakh units per month. We are now focussing on a new product segment, pharma aerosol sprays, like anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, anti-burn etc", Doshi said.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Pharma's Mahendra Patel says that they have just completed expansion of its Khatraj facility for Rs 30 crore. "We have added injectable non-betalactum facility that will make liquid ampules and vials. There is another line for syrups as well. We had around 30,000 square yards of land at Khatraj, and have commissioned the expansion within the same premises", Patel said adding that he has also upgraded his facility to meet the regulatory requirements of markets like Japan as well. At present, the company is exporting to African, Latin American and South East Asian countries. "Gujarat based manufacturers are meeting a Japanese delegation during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit, to understand their requirements and how can we cater to that market", Patel said.
Around 600 small and medium players in the state are into contract manufacturing for multinational pharma players like Pfizer, Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline among others. "While Gujarat's overall pharmaceutical turnover is around Rs 29,000 crore annually, of this, SMEs contribute around Rs 10,000 crore. Nearly, 70 per cent of SME production or around Rs 7,000 crore is contract manufacturing products", Doshi explained.
