Elder Pharma - Now Into Medical Biosecurity

Elder Pharma - In Strategic Deal With UK Firm Medichem

Elder Pharmaceuticals has entered into a strategic alliance with UK’s Medichem International to develop, manufacture and market advanced medical biosecurity products in India. Medichem is a leader in advanced medical disinfection products. It sells in more than 40 countries. Through the alliance, Elder would initially market a disinfectant spray developed by Medichem International, used for precaution against the potential risk from H5N1 avian flu virus. Branded as Trigene, the new disinfectant is certified by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs - the apex British government body for such products - as effective against bird flu viruses at normal user dilutions.

Medichem International, based at Kent in UK, develops, manufactures and markets advanced chemical biosecurity products. Since 1992, the company has been enhancing the infection control needs of many markets with a range of revolutionary products.

Sources in the company said that Trigene is effective in containing the spread of bird flu in hospitals, poultry farms, kennels, catteries and other animal habitats and has met with tremendous success since its launch last year, particularly in China. In view of responses received from a few hospitals in Mumbai, Elder is working out plans to manufacture this - and other similar products from Medichem - in India at its newly set up US FDA compliant Uttaranchal facility.

Alok Saxena, director, Elder Pharmaceuticals, said “Elder’s entry into the medical disinfection sector is a part of our strategy of focusing on emerging segments and manufacturing world class products in India through licenses with global majors.” He added that once it starts manufacturing these products, Elder plans to take them to the markets in the medical segment, which include the laboratories, veterinary, environmental, military and government segments within the country, in the current year.

Elder Pharmaceuticals is also setting up a drug manufacturing company in Nepal in partnership with Universal group of Kathmandu. The pharma company will be a 60:40 joint venture between Universal group and Elder in which the Indian company will initially invest Rs 10 crore. The Rs 300-crore Elder Pharma has been marketing some of its therapeutics in Nepal through its local network and it has a direct marketing team of about 30 people there. The joint venture company — Universal Elder Pharmaceuticals— will manufacture drug formulations keeping in view the nature of the local market. “Universal Elder Pharma will have two manufacturing units. The first unit would make beta-lactam antibiotics such as amoxycillin, ampicillin, cephalasporins etc, while the second unit would produce non-beta-lactam products such as pain killers, vitamins and cardiac products,” said the sources. “The Nepal venture is part of our global expansion strategy. Also , the company has recently started a direct sales and marketing subsidiary in Ghana,” said Alok Saxena, director -international business, Elder Pharma.

This will be Universal’s maiden entry in pharmaceutical market. The group plans to explore the opportunity the local pharmaceutical market offers which is currently pegged at Rs 500 crore. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry in Nepal has lot of potential for foreign direct investment (FDI). At present, there are about 35 drug manufacturing companies in Nepal, which includes the state-owned Royal Drugs. However, most of these companies are producing non-patented drugs and form 27 per cent of the domestic market.