A languishing state-run drug maker pulls up its socks, is set to go global

Kerala govt-owned KSDP to start exports to African nations and Cambodia in FY19, set up three units at a combined Rs 1 billion

Even as private sector pharmaceutical manufacturers are struggling to grab a pie in the competitive generic market, Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KSDP) is expected to start exporting its medicines to African nations such as Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, and Asian nation Cambodia from 2018-19 onwards. KSDP is said to be the only state government-run pharmaceutical manufacturing public sector undertaking (PSU) in the country. 

In the past few months, the company received Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) approval for its manufacturing facility from the World Health Organization (WHO). The certification will enable KSDP to supply medicines made in its factory,