Cadila Plans China, Australia Units
sector.
It is talking to several leading pharmaceutical companies in the three countries and has targeted products like antibiotics, steroids, anti-ulcerants, sugar substitutes, protein supplements and cosmetics.
"We are in an advanced stage of negotiations with potential partners and expect to firm up very soon", CA Vice President J S Sastry said. The Chinese venture was all but finalised and would be located in the Shanghai area.
The Chinese partner was a state owned pharma company. Sastry did not give out the name saying that the deal was yet to be signed.
He said the company was transforming itself from a pharma bulk drug and formulations manufacturer into a "total healthcare" firm that spanned the entire spectrum of the healthcare business.
As part of its diversification plan it had recently set up a subsidiary, Vet Pharma to manufacture laboratory instruments. Most high quality instruments in the country were imported and there was a big market for such devices that cost less and gave similar performance as the foreign ones. The company had augmented capacity of Mumbai based NDO Pharma which it had taken over in 1995 to meet the growing demand for bulk drugs, antibiotics and vitamins.
Cadila's exports in these areas were growing and newer markets were being tapped. Recently export possibilities were opened in Myanmar, Philippines, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Romania.
A major research programme was being started to develop new molecules to prepare the company for the new patents' regime. The domestic research would focus on marketable intermediaries and formulations that would stand out as quality products. The company was of the belief that investment in research now would reap rich rewards within the next 10 years.
Its sugar substitute product had become a major marketing success firmly anchoring the health foods part of the company as a major revenue earner in future.
Cadila has targeted products like antibiotics, steroids, anti-ulcerants, sugar substitutes, protein supplements and cosmetics for its foreign forays