Mankind to set up pharma unit in Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi-based pharmaceutical company Mankind Pharma will soon be coming up with a manufacturing facility in Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) by the end of this year and a research and development unit in Gurgaon by next year.

A total of Rs 65 crore will be invested in these two units (Rs 30 crore in the manufacturing unit and Rs 35 crore in the R&D unit).

Started in 1995-96, with an annual turnover of Rs 3.79 crore, the firm has reached a turnover of Rs 370 crore in 2005-06, and is targeting Rs 550 crore in 2006-07 and Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years.

Speaking to Business Standard, R C Juneja, managing director, said that the company had been present in Punjab since 1996 and in 2005-06, it generated sales worth Rs 15.5 crore.

"We launched our marketing division here in March 2004 and Lifestar Pharma in August 2005. In Punjab, we have a workforce of 80 people and soon another 50-odd people will be added.''

"According to an ORG-IMS Stockiest Secondary Audit 2006, our company has been ranked fourth in North India and seventh in the country," Juneja said.

Giving details of the manufacturing facility in Paonta Sahib, Juneja said that it will come up in a 12-acre plot with an investment of Rs 30 crore.

"It has been designed as per USFDA standards and will have a production capacity of 60 million ampoules and 30 million vials per annum on single shift basis. The production process will be automated so that there is no human intervention at the production stage. It will be operational by December,'' he said.

Regarding the R&D unit coming up in Gurgaon with an investment of Rs 35 crore, he informed it would have capabilities to span formulations development, new drug delivery systems, bio equivalence studies and contract research. It will be ready by next year.

On being asked about the plans of the company to enter the exports market Juneja informed that India's pharmaceutical market (formulations and generics) is worth Rs 26,200 crore and the export market (formulations and generics & bulk) is worth Rs 9,000 crore.