Zydus Lines Up 13 Brands For South-East Asia Push

Pharma major Zydus Cadila Healthcare has identified thirteen brands for its foray into the south-east Asian market.

The Ahmedabad-based company has already chalked out expansion plans in Japan, Philippines, Latin America and Nigeria.

While the brand names of these products could not be ascertained, senior Zydus Cadila officials said they included anti-infectives, anti-retrovirals and cardiovascular and pain management brands.

Pankaj Patel, managing director, Zydus Cadila, said, "In the coming year, we plan to expand our business in Japan, Philippines, Latin America and Nigeria. To enhance our long-term profitability, 13 global brands have been identified and these will be registered in all countries. In this year alone, we are targeting 100 new registrations across four continents."

At present, the company has successfully registered seven drugs in the Philippines.

Zydus Cadila will be entering high-growth segments such as women's healthcare, and respiratory and oncology segments.

The new products launch would fall under these segments, Patel said.

The group currently focuses on five core areas -- gastrointestinals, cardiovasculars, anti-infectives, pain management and biologicals.

Meanwhile, Zydus Cadila Healthcare on Monday announced its financial results. It has posted a net profit of Rs 19.18 crore for the quarter-ended June 30, 2001 compared with Rs 14.33 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total income increased to Rs 144.18 crore in the quarter-ended June 30, 2001 from Rs 133.31 crore.

Effective from June 2001, the business of Pathline division of the company has been spun off to its wholly owned subsidiary, Zydus Agrovet Ltd, which has been renamed as Zydus Pathline Ltd.

With a focus on specialties, Zydus Cadila had earlier started two specialty divisions which include Zydus Neurosciences to market anti-depressants, anxiolytics and anti-epileptic drugs, and Zydus Vaccicare to market vaccines.

In the year 2000-2001, the group had launched several blockbuster molecules such as Zycel (celecoxib), Penegra (sildenafil citrate), XET (paroxetine) and Glizone (pioglitazone).

During the first quarter of the current fiscal, Zydus Cadila launched several blockbuster drugs in various segments. The new launches included Noklot (clopidogrel) and Solosprin (a combination of isosorbide mononitrate and asprin) in the cardiovascular segment.

The company also launched K-Bind (calcium polystyrene sulphonate binder) in the nephrology segment.

Zydus Cadila's thrust on new speciality areas was strengthened by the launch of Serlin (sertraline) in the neurosciences division and the introduction of a fertility drug Folistim (clomiphene citrate) in the women's healthcare segment.