Wockhardt to focus on freer mkts

Over the next two years Wockhardt will strive to focus heavily on less-regulated markets for growth and it plans to release three more biotech products.

Presently, the company has three biotech products "" insulin, erythropoietin and hepatitis B vaccine. It now plans to release three more products "" interferon alpha, GcEF and an insulin variant "" this year.

"The company has been regularly filing insulin, erythropoietin and hepatitis B vaccine registrations in less-regulated markets and 50 to 60 such filings have been planned," Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of Wockhardt Limited told Business Standard.

Less regulated markets are countries like Russia, CIS countries, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

Justifying the company's stand in favour of less regulated markets, he said these markets are lucrative. For example, the insulin business in these markets is valued around $1 billion.

According to Khorakiwala, approvals are gradually coming in and in a few markets licence has already come. "We will develop the market ourselves and plan to repeat the success in India in terms of market share in these regions," he added.

On ANDA filings, he said, "We will file 15 to 16 this year and so far the company has filed five ANDAs, mainly in sterile injectables, therapeutics and cardiovascular and antibiotics segments."

"The five ANDAs filed by the company will address a market size of $2.5 billion," he added.

Acknowledging that the value added tax (VAT) had impacted the company in the first quarter of 2005, Khorakiwala said, VAT created confusion in the industry with many states opting for it and some abstaining. "We suffered in the first quarter but now in the second quarter the situation has normalised and the company has done better than in the first."

The biotech division has been doing well. "Though our overall domestic business has gone down, our diabetics portfolios which is one of our key focus areas has shown a growth of 25 per cent," he said.

The company is banking on the new biotech products in the financial year 2005 and has set a target of Rs 100 crore for the biotech division. In 2004, the division registered a turnover of Rs 40 crore.