Aanjaneya Lifecare Is seriously looking to acquire a brand in cough cold, pain management segmen
Maharastra, Mumbai, 30th July 2011 . Aanjaneya Lifecare Ltd led by its dynamic & visionary chairman Dr Kannan has recently been in news for bringing a successful Initial Public Offering raising 117 Crores for its various expansion plans. Aanjaneya’s IPO has brought cheers to many pharma players who are reluctant to get into the public listed Company citing time is not ripe enough to take the plunge. Aanjaneya’s successful IPO is an indication that pharma market is indeed bolstering if you have the right mix. with established research, manufacturing & marketing capabilities. Aanjaneya’s are among the largest Quinine producers in world. With highly Innovative Alkaloids, Anti Malarial APIs & Anti Cancer APIs from Natural Sources & Veterinary APIs &In Finished Dosages Aanjaneya’s cover important therapeutic areas such as Anti Malarial, Anti Cancer, Erectile Dysfunction, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Anti Obesity, Herbal products & Lozenges for various Therapeutic segments. Dr. Kannan Vishwanath, Chairman, Aanjaneya Lifecare Ltd took the direct question of Satya Brahma, Chairman & Editor-In-Chief of Pharmaleaders Magazine ( www.pharmaleaders.co.in ) & Indian Affairs Magazine ( www.indianaffairs.in ) & went on to explain that Aanjaneya Lifecare will soon emerge out as one of the most watched for Company in the coming days. Excerpts from the interview.
PL: The Indian pharmaceutical sector has registered an outstanding growth during the last few years and has become the hub of pharmaceutical companies owing to low cost manufacturing, large population, and high demand. As per our research, the contract manufacturing market is quite mature with around over 100 manufacturing facilities in the country that are approved by the US regulator. How is your space in such a fierce market?
? Aanjaneya Lifecare is present in certain niche segments. Being vertically integrated, we have greater control over supply chain & hence better efficiencies compared to most of our peers who are either Stane Alone APIs or Finished Dosages manufacturers. We have one of the largest Codiene Quota in Western India making us a dominant player in the Pain Managewment & Cough Cold Segment. We are integrated manufacturer of Anti Malarials & Herbal medications having both our facilities WHO GMP approved. We have carved our niche in pharma space & with the new capex happening & further capacities & products being added we see vsalue creation for our stakeholders.
PL: India’s reputation as a premier destination for outsourcing of pharma manufacturing work is evident from the trust endowed by big MNC companies in the domestic players. For instance, nearly 20 months after Pfizer signed a licensing and supply agreement with Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals for 80 products, the two companies recently signed another agreement for around 40 products. The agreement worth around US$ 70 Million would boost the overall revenue of Aurobindo to a great extent. Backed by the above stated factors, the contract manufacturing market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 45% during 2011-2013. How do you view these trends?
? India is the preferred destination for contract manufacturing & has the largest number of USFDA approved manufacturing sites outside of USA. Large talent pool of english speaking professionals & strong quality emphasis by local FDA gives India advantage over the competition. India would being the centre of low cost generic manufacturing & major base for Future R & D centres of global majors.
PL: Rising cost pressure on pharmaceutical companies, soaring demand for pharmaceuticals worldwide, and rising private investments will provide the much required impetus to the industry. The current decision taken by the governments of the US, Germany, France, the UK, and Spain will create a pressure on the global pharmaceutical majors to reduce their costs. Thus, these firms will look for the contract manufacturing facilities in the emerging countries. Are you feeling the heat?
? This is a huge opportunity for Mid Size Pharmaceutical companies of size of Aanjaneya with well established manufacturing facilities & strong team to offer a range of products. Our integrated manufacturing set up will add value to these players who would look to a strong partner for their manufacturing needs.
PL : Are you looking for any JV’s & Co-Marketing in near future?
? Yes we are looking at oppertunities in Emerging markets for our Range of products & in USA & Europe for our Range of Oncology APIs
PL: Will you be open with an idea to enter the branded formulation market?
? We are present in branded generics segment in India & we are exporting our range of branded formulations to emerging markets. We are looking to acquire a brand in cough cold, pain management segment which will augment our entry into this segment. Currently we are in process of building the necessary network to enter the branded formulations segment
PL: You have two facilities for manufacturing bulk drugs at Mahad and finished dosage forms at Pirungut near Pune. Are you looking at expanding with international regulatory approvals like US FDA/UK MHRA/TGA AUSTRALIA??
? The Current Facilities in Mahad & Pirungut are WHO GMP approved & the newer capex happeing in both facilities are designed as per the latest EUGMP & USFDA guidelines & once completed wee will go for these approvals as we intend to enter into the regulated markets.
PL: Recently you have begged some good market to your belly for 60 Crore, will you add some more as these companies barring Zudus Cadila are sourcing from others too for the same products?? Are you expecting to fill more in the kitty??
? Yes. The recent orders were a mixture of cough cold , Pain management, Lozenges & Anti Malarial products. We are in process of registration of our extensive range of herbal medicines within India & emerging markets & we look forward to this segment giving us a larger footprint domestically & abroad.
PL: In your IPO, you raised 117 Crore, please tell us some investment planning??
? We are investing close to 100 crores towards setting up 2 R & D centres one for APIs & One for Formulations development in Mahad & Pune, We are setting up 2 GMP manufacturing Blocks for manufacturing a range of APIs including Anti Cancer products, an separate intermediate facility for manufacturing intermediates of complex APIs , a Seperate Quality Management Block & strengthening our ETP systems. We are building an distribution netwrork our our range of formulations in African markets.
PL : Are you open to take over some SME’s to fuel your growth engine??
? We have large facilities that can manufacture a range of products & suffice our requirements for next 4-5 years . We would be looking to acquire a brand or distribution assets within india or abroad to expand our branded formulations business
PL: Will you try your luck with Alternative medicines like Ayurveda & Herbal Medicines??
? We are very much present in herbal medicines segment & manufacture Herbal Liver Supplement in Syrups Like Livecell & Livetone to companies Like Cipla, Wochardht & Zydus Cadila. We have our own herbal extraction facity in Mahad & would be identifying herbs extracting them in our faclity & formulating them to have better control over costs & quality & we see this segment giving us large revenues in next 2-3 years.
PL: What is the goal that you have set for the fiscal 2012?
? Most of our Capex would be completed by end of Fiscal year 2012. With orders at hand & registration in place we look forward to a robust growth in 2011-12 with over 30-40 % over FY 2010-2011
PL: What is the % of your turnover goes to R & D??
? Currently the % of Turnover to R % D is about 2 % . But with the New R & D centres coming up for APIs & FDFs slated to operate by Jan 2012 we will see a provision close to 6-8 % towards R & D in FY 12.
PL: Will you in near future plan to marry someone to consolidate your growth or build on its own?
? Currently we are in phase of consolidations & completion of existing capex once existing capex is complete & our range of formulations established in Domestic & overseas market we may look at opportunities 2-3 years down the line to boost our next phase of growth.
PL: What are your core areas of strength?
? Our integrated manufacturing model, presence in niche segments, large manufacturing facilities, growing distribution network & excellent relations with large companies for their manufacturing requirements & long term relations with these companies are our core strength.
PL: Your take on Indian Pharma market??
? This is an exciting Phase for Indian Pharmaceutical Industries. Most of The block buster Molecules is going off patent between 2010-2014. Most Pharmaceutical Companies in USA & Europe are looking to out source their manufacturing requirements to low cost manufacturing centres like India. We are very well placed to absorb this challenge & partner with pharma majors for their manufacturing requirement.
