E Merck Goa Factory To Be Sourcing Base
E Merck (India), the 51 per cent subsidiary of German pharmaceuticals and chemicals major Merck KGaA, is proposing to make its soft gelatine capsules unit in Goa a sourcing base for the Asian region.
The company aims to provide soft gelatine capsules to the Asian subsidiaries of its German parent Merck KGaA.
"Discussions are on to decide to make the Goa plant a soft gelatine capsules sourcing base for the entire region," said S M Gupte, director, E-Merck, India.
Also Read
The unit was commissioned at Usgaon, Goa in February this year. The purpose is to reduce the company's dependence on outsourcing. The new unit makes capsules largely for Evion, its vitamin E formulation which has a sizeable market share. One of the other decisions to be finalised is which formulations it will supply capsules for in Asia.
As the unit has been set up in an industrially backward area, the company is expecting tax benefits on income derived from it.
Asked whether any expansion of capacity is on the anvil, Gupte said, "We already have capacity to fulfil the requirements." The company's installed capacity for tablets and capsules together is 960 million units.
The company has sought approval from the TGA, the Australian equivalent of the US FDA, for its plants at both Taloja and Goa.
The Taloja plant was set up in 1973 for making formulations, while a bulk drugs unit was set up in Goa in 1983. Another formulations plant was started in 1991. The latest addition in Goa is the capsules unit.
The company has five divisions - pharmaceutical, reagents, bulk drugs, diagnostics and pigments. In 1997, pharmaceuticals contributed 69.3 per cent of the sales turnover as against 72.6 per cent in 1993.
The company is reportedly trying to align its product portfolio with its parent company, which is a global leader in laboratory reagents. It is also planning a foray into the over-the-counter segment following the parent's acquisition of Seven Seas, UK and six brands from SmithKline Beecham, UK.