Ind Swift Labs

Besides anti-biotics, the company has focussed on steroids wherein it has filed the drug master file with the European drug regulatory authorities for bethamethasone sodium phosphate, betamethaone valerate and betamethasone dipropionate, patents for which has already expired.

Currently, the company exports 40 per cent of its production mainly to US, UK, Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and balance is sold in the domestic markets. Its domestic clients include pharma bigwigs like Cipla, Ranbaxy, Cadila, Rhone-Poulenc, Alkem Labs, Novartis, Wockhardt and Sun Pharma to name a few.

Ind-swift Labs research team has been able to commercialise a number of new generation critical therapeutic drugs among the latest ones in the pipeline is Atorvastatin and Simvastatin, which apparently are the latest generation cardiovascular drugs.

 

The company was first in India to develop NDDS (new drug delivery system) of clarithromycin in coated granules. This product alone contributes 12 per cent of sales VK Mehta, joint managing director, "The latest NDDS is for azithromycin and roxithromycin."

The company is a bulk drug producer, and margins are volatile in this business. Additionally, exports streams are also susceptible to shocks. Mehta however clarifies "Our research focus is on newer generation drugs with better margins and in terms of country exposure, we are diverse."

The company's performance in the nine-months ended December 1999 has seen sales at Rs 45.93 crore against Rs 46.9 crore the whole of previous year, with net profit doubling to Rs 2.4 crore against Rs 1.23 crore in 1998-99. With volume growth and value added products, the operating margin has moved up from 7.37 per cent to 17.63 in the same period.