New Delhi, Aug 14: The Hyderabad-based, Medicorp Technologies is in talks with at least three US pharma firms to export its anti-viral bulk drug product`Acyclovir' to the regulated market. The company is expected to receive the US Foods and Drugs Administration (FDA) approval over the next two months for its facility manufacturing `Acyclovir', says a company source.The company has taken over the export division of the Chennai-based Medispan for a consideration of Rs 5.33 crore. The valuation was done by PriceWaterCooper.The acquisition is expected to bring in synergies for Medicorp, which is in the process of setting up a Rs 32-crore formulation plant. The acquisition is expected to boost Medicorp's formulation exports by almost Rs 5 crore this year and Rs 15 crore in 2001-02, says the source. The company is already the third largest player of `Acyclovir' in the world with an annual capacity of 60 metric tonnes (mtt). The company is the process of expanding its annual capacity by 40-60 mtt to 100 mt tonnes.
The expansion will be completed by December this year. `Acyclovir' currently accounts for close to 50 per cent of Medicorp's current revenues of Rs 40 crore.The company has already registered the drug master file (DMF) in the US and a reference to this has been made by another US company which intends to buy Medicorp's product. This MNC has already filed abridged new drug application (ANDA) with the FDA a couple of months back, expressing its intention to pick up Acyclovir from Medicorp and convert the bulk drug product into tablets or capsules, company official said.
The company has appointed the Geneva-based, Quality Assurance Consultants for training the company's personnel towards fulfilling the requirements of International Drug Regulatory Agencies in meeting the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) standards.
Medicorp has already bagged the certificate of suitability from the European department for quality medicines and TGA, Australia for Acyclovir. These certificates have enabled the company to enter the European and the Australian markets. Medicorp manufactures other drugs like alprazolam, cetrizine dihydro-chloride, omeprazole and fluconazole plans to launch at least four new products in the coming few months. For the third-quarter ended June 2000, the company reported a 35 per cent improvement in net profit to Rs 1.01 crore on a 10 per cent rise in turnover to Rs 9.12 crore.
The company Medicorp has shifting its research and development centre to the ICICI knowledge park near Hyderabad from Pashamylaram, which has developed more than 10 molecules in the last two years has been recognised by the department of scientific and industrial research.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.