The existing plant of the company at Panchkula is certified as WHO-GMP, oneof the most coveted certification in the pharmaceutical industry and thecompany is soon going to obtain the international GMP accreditation. Venusmanaging director Pawan Chaudhary said the company has decided to set up thenew unit in the wake of present and future trends due to GATT. For thispurpose, the company is scouting for a technical collaborator and is tyingup with an Australian multinational giant. The new product-the latestgeneration Cephalosphorin for which the MNC has patent in about 25countries, is to be exported once the new plant is set up.

The company has shown good results for the last quarter ended March 2000 aswell as for the entire financial year 1999-2000.

It achieved a quarterly turnover of Rs 378.81 lakh as against Rs 258.23lakh of during the corresponding period last year, a jump of 47 per cent.The profit after tax for the quarter has risen to Rs 19.24 lakh (Rs 2.19lakh), a gain of about 778.54 per cent. The annual turnover had increasedfrom Rs 1,206.30 lakh in 1998-99 to Rs 1,482.37 lakh, a hike of 23 per cent.Similarly, the annual profit after tax has shown an increase of 273.14 percent, from Rs 13.44 lakh in 1998-99 to Rs 50.15 lakh in 1999-2000.

Chaudhary said the good performance was primarily due to an increase in theshare of high value-added products in the product mix, deeper penetration inthe market and better acceptability and popularity of the company's drugs inthe medical fraternity.

He said that quality was the key factor in pharma industry and Venus had theplant as per WHO-GMP standards to ensure the best quality products. Furtherthe state-of-the-art in-house research and development facilities alsoprovided an impetus to launching of new products. Venus is now operating itsR&D centre on commercial basis and offers advanced testing services for thepharmaceutical sector.

About the finances for the new project, he said it would be funded frominternal accruals and term loans. The company has approached the HimachalPradesh government for suitable land at Baddi in view of the fact thatHimachal has developed an Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) atJharmajri-Baddi, about 40km from Chandigarh and offers tax holiday for 5years.

Significantly, Jharmajri is located on popular Barotiwala-Baddi-Nalagarhindustrial corridor which is equipped with an essential infrastructurefacilities. Major players like Vardhman, Dabur, DCM, Birla, GountermannPiepers of Mittals had already set up their units in this belt. With VenusRemedies going to set up unit at Baddi, the belt is sure to get a majorboost as far as pharma units are concerned. Already another pharma majorInd-Swift has set up facilities in the vicinity.