Vins Bioproducts makes Rs 20cr expansion plans
Company to set up US FDA compliant plant
| The Rs 45-crore company, which enjoys a 40 per cent market share in the country for its ASVS, will also diversify its portfolio to start manufacturing passive vaccines alongside anti-cancer drugs. |
| Briefing the media about the new facility, which is expected to be in place by the last quarter of the next financial year, N Viswanath, managing director of Vins Bioproducts, said that apart from plans to introduce between four and five new products, the annual production capacity of ASVS will be enhanced to over nine lakh units from the existing four lakh units. |
| A USFDA compliant manufacturing facility will make the company an outsourcing destination for drugs for the regulated markets. According to Viswanath, the company would mobilise money for the investment required for setting up of the facility through banks and other financial institutions. |
| "We have no plans for an IPO," he said. The company, which manufactures a couple of anti-cancer drugs, is expected to launch few more in this category in the coming days. |
| "We are in the process of negotiations with a public sector enterprise for a possible joint-venture for our diversification plans," he said, while refusing to disclose the name of the public sector company. |
| Claiming to be one of the largest ASVS manufacturers in the world, the privately-held company exports its product to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Exports account for 30 per cent of the total sales, according to Viswanath. |
| "We expect a 30 per cent increase in turnover for the current year," he added. |
| The new products that were developed in the company's R&D centre for the launch, as part of its diversification, include an anti-rabies serum (ARS), anti sera for diphtheria, gas gangrene, tetanus and scorpion venom and human immunoglobulins. The anti-rabies vaccine is slated to be introduced in the next 10 days into the market. |
| With the governments of the various states being the major purchasers of ASVS, as the victims of snake bites are predominantly rural folk, Viswanath said that increased awareness of the vaccine will see more orders from the state governments. |
| "The purchase of ASVS is almost negligible in states like Bihar, where the maximum number of snake bites are reported each year. The Tamil Nadu government purchased over 1.3 lakh units per year, where the incidence of snake bites are the lowest, as compared to about 25,000 units by the Andhra Pradesh government," Viswanath pointed out. |