Venus eyes $100mn from new drug 'Elores' in 5 yrs

Firm also looking at marketing tie-ups with MNC pharma firms to launch drug in US

Venus Remedies today said it is aiming to garner around $100 million (over Rs 500 crore) in the next five years from its new drug that is used for combating spread of bacterial resistance.

The company, which plans to launch the drug in various countries, is introducing 'Elores' first in India.

"We believe this drug will be a $100 million product for Venus Remedies in the next five years," Venus Remedies Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Chaudhary said here.

The Chandigarh-based drug firm is also looking at marketing tie-ups with multi-national pharmaceutical firms to launch the product in the US.

Chaudhary said the company has mandated consultancy firm Ernst & Young to find out a marketing partner in the US to launch the drug in the US market.

"We are looking for tie-ups with US-based pharma firms for launching this product. We are confident that in next three years it would be launched in the US market," he said.

The drug, branded as Elores, is a novel antibiotic adjuvant entity (AAE) that targets bacterial resistance mechanisms.

The company claims it not only kills resistant pathogens but also prevents the spread of resistance.

Venus Remedies, which posted revenues of around Rs 405 crore in the last fiscal, has already invested $10 million for the development of the new product since 2001 and plans to invest another $10 million to launch the product in various global markets.

"After India, the product would be most likely launched in South Korea. By next year, it should be available in Europe," Chaudhary said.

The company, which has already secured patent for the product in around 44 countries, is also looking to launch Elores in various othe geographies including South Africa and Latin America.

"Our target is to launch the product in as many as 50 countries, five years down the line," Chaudhary said.

According to industry estimates, the anti-infective market in India is pegged at around Rs 850 crore per annum. Around 40% of the sales come from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) segment.

"We are expecting to capture 10 per cent share of the total AMR market in India in the next five years, making it over a Rs 200 crore product," Chaudhary said.

On revenue target in the current fiscal Chaudhary said: "We are targeting somewhere around Rs 460 crore in FY13," adding that the Elores launch would not have a major impact on the revenues in the current fiscal.

Commenting on the product pipeline, Venus Remedies Joint Managing Director Manu Chaudhary said the company has 20 products in various stages of development.

"The pipeline consists of combination of antibiotics and cancer drugs," she added.

Shares of Venus Remedies were trading at Rs 281.50 on the BSE in morning trade.