Sami Labs looks for acquisitions in Europe

Sami Labs, Bangalore based health-science company, is eyeing a European acquisition. According to a company official, it has set aside Rs 100 crore for the acquisition which is likely to be announced shortly.

On the drug development side, the company has secured Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) nod for phase III trails of Forskolin eye drops in curing Glaucoma and a drug for Psoriasis has reached the Investigational New Drug (IND) level.

The company is also planning to launch its cosmeceutical range of products. It will be adopting the multi-level marketing (MLM) route to launch the products in India.

In the international market, the company is betting on its patented product 'Forslean', its brand for coleus forskohlii extract, used extensively as a supplement for weight management.

Coleus forskohlii is a wild plant with medicinal qualities. Sami Labs and its associate in US, Sabinsa Corporation, discovered that Coleus forskohlii (ban tulsi in Hindi), when taken internally, broke down the fat in the body without affecting other tissues. In the year 1998, Sami Labs was granted a US patent for this discovery.

Currently, the company is cultivating coleus on 15,000 acres in India. In this financial year the herbal cultivation is being expanded to 30,000 acres covering regions in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh. The investment for cultivation will be Rs 50-60 crore.

For the last six months (January "� June 2005), Sami Labs has registered a turnover of Rs 326 crore. It plans to close the current calendar year at Rs 600 crore.