Calyx plans IPO to raise more than Rs 100 crore

Calyx Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest manufacturers of anti-tuberculosis and anti-malaria bulk drugs, would soon tap the capital markets through an initial public offer (IPO), said Chairman and Managing Director Smitesh Shah.

Calyx — the three-decade-old Mumbai-based active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and intermediate manufacturer, with an annual turnover of over Rs 320 crore — would file the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) within two months, Shah told Business Standard. “We require funds for setting up new manufacturing lines and working capital, and the IPO is not going to be less than Rs 100 crore.”

Calyx, with a headcount of 450, is owned by the families of three founders, including Smitesh Shah. He is also the chairman of Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil). Ahmedabad-based injectable drug maker Claris Life Sciences recently announced its IPO plans to raise about Rs 300 crore. Calyx plans to triple its manufacturing capacity to 160 kilo litres, with four new blocks of manufacturing lines, at an investment of about Rs 50 crore. It has a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other leading regulatory agencies-approved manufacturing complex at Tarapur and an intermediate manufacturing facility, with a research and development centre, at Dombivali in Maharashtra. APIs and intermediates are the key ingredients in a finished formulation. The company makes close to 20 APIs and 15 intermediates. Calyx, one of the first contract research and manufacturing (CRAMS) companies from India, supplies to three of the top ten multinational drug companies.

Its clients include about 10 leading finished drug makers. CRAMS business contributes about 25 per cent to its turnover.

The company has a 100-plus highly skilled scientific team, currently developing generics of HIV/AIDS bulk drugs. Calyx also plans to develop APIs for steroids.