Marck Biosciences eyes Rs 25 cr sales in south

Marck Biosciences, a Ahmedabad-based manufacturer of parenterals, is eyeing institutional (hospitals) and contract manufacturing opportunity in south India. Parenterals are drugs not administered orally.

The company formally entered the southern market with its injectibles and inhaling solutions, and is targeting Rs 25 crore revenues in its first year of operations.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Bhavesh Patel, Managing Director, Marck Biosciences, said, "South India accounts for about 28 per cent of India's Rs 1,600 crore parenterals' market. We have a strong presence in north and west India. The launch in South India is aimed at spearheading our plan to cross the target of Rs 100 crore revenues in 2007-08, from the current topline of Rs 40 crore."

"To achieve Rs 100 crore revenues this year, the company plans to focus on dual strategy of domestic market expansion and leveraging the large contract manufacturing opportunity," he added.

In the first year of its operation in south India, the company is targeting 8 per cent of the Rs 450 crore sterile dosage market.

"We plan to tap both the retail and institutional market through a network of distributors along with field staff. In the region, we hope to have over 80 distributors to cover the market," said Patel.

The company in 2006, initiated a Rs 72 crore capacity expansion at its existing facility in Gujarat to increase its production capacity to 230 million units of SVP (small volume parenterals) and 61 million units of LVP (large volume parenterals). The expansion is to be completed in July 2007.

"Capacity expansion is expected to give a boost to contract manufacturing opportunities for us. Presently, this segment is Rs 9 crore business for us and it is expected to grow to Rs 18 crore by end of this fiscal," Vijay Walia, AVP-national sales, Marck Biosciences.