Elder Pharma to strengthen nutraceuticals; enter new areas

Elder Pharmaceuticals today said post its Rs 2,004-crore deal with Torrent Pharmaceuticals, the firm plans to strengthen existing brands and aggressively tap the growing nutraceutical segment by launching more products.
In December last year, Ahmedabad's Torrent acquired the branded formulation business of the Mumbai-based drugmaker in India and Nepal for Rs 2,000 crore to boost its presence in segments such as women's healthcare and pain management.
Apart from strengthening its existing brands like Eldervit and Somazina, the company plans to build on its domestic business of anti-infectives, strengthen in-license portfolio and grow its business in the UK and in Europe, Elder said in a release here.

At the same time, it would explore the possibility of entering new therapeutics areas.
"Post the Torrent deal, we expects an increase in consolidated revenues. Given the strategy to focus on key brands and areas, re-structure and re-strategise the brands and people, EPL would easily increase its revenues and profitability," Elder Pharma CMD Alok Saxena said.
'Eldervit' has been a driving force for the company in the nutraceuticals space in the last couple of years and key contributor with sales of more than Rs 40 crore. The company plans to push it further in the fast-growing nutraceuticals market, the release said.

Phytomega, an in-licensed brand, has been garnering healthy growth and is expected to be a major contributor to future revenue. Formic (anti-biotic) Oxoferin and Tantum are expected to boost revenues and move the company ahead post the deal, it said.

Elder's anti-infectives division has been contributing more than 10 per cent to the total revenue and has been registering annual growth of over 12 per cent. Newly launched Balofloxacin, Meropenem and Formic-Of are expected to boost revenues in this division.
Anti-infectives, being a mass market category, have the potential of offering immense opportunities by sheer virtue of size, the release said.

With lifestyle diseases on the rise, the company plans to foray deep into the neurological therapeutic and cardio vascular segments, Saxena said.
Elder has the highest number of in-licence agreements, numbering about 25, in the domestic market, he added.