Ajanta Pharma's Guwahati facility to be ready by March 2017

Facility will produce tablets, capsules, creams and ointments and sterile ophthalmic liquids

Drug maker Ajanta Pharma said its new formulations facility at Guwahati will be commercialised before March 2017 and Dahej manufacturing facility, mainly dedicated for developed markets, will be operational in next financial year.

"Our new formulations facility being set up at Guwahati with a capex of over Rs 300 crore to cater to India and emerging markets will be commercialised before March 2017, which will enable us to build our strength in manufacturing and get more tax efficient," the Mumbai-based company said in its annual report.

The facility will produce tablets, capsules, creams/ointments and sterile ophthalmic liquids.

"The company is also adding manufacturing capacities for different markets. The Dahej manufacturing facility mainly dedicated for developed markets, will be operational by FY 18," Ajanta Pharma Managing Director Yogesh Agrawal said in the annual report.

With substantial investments of Rs 106 crore in R&D in 2015-16, use of latest platform technologies and developing niche and complex formulations, the company is confident of reinforcing its exclusive positioning in the markets it operates in.

The company has a strong presence in branded generics space in more than 30 emerging countries across India, Africa, CIS, Middle East and South East Asia, generics in developed markets of US and institutional sales.

The company has stepped up its presence in the US market with a select product portfolio.

It has 26 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs), out of which we received eight final approvals and two tentative approvals. We are awaiting for approvals of 16 ANDAs and plans to file 8-12 ANDAs every year for every year with the USFDA going forward, Agrawal said.

The company plans to remain focused on few high growth specialty therapeutic segments in India and building leadership in cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology and pain management.

In the emerging markets, its vision is to provide differentiated products, customised to suit individual marketplace with a bouquet of 1400 plus product registration in hand and another equal number under approval, the company said.