Ajanta Pharma has mandated KPMG to scout for potential marketing partners, and the New Delhi-based Ranbaxy Laboratories is believed to have already been sounded out for a co-marketing arrangement in India.

Ajanta Pharma's chief financial officer Arvind K Agrawal told The Financial Express that negotiations with a few potential partners had commenced and a decision may be made before the close of the year. Such licensing arrangements typically involve the payment of a lumpsum to the brand owner, besides royalty inflows. Mr Agrawal, however, refused to comment on the likelihood of a tie-up with Ranbaxy.

Carofit, for which Ajanta Pharma holds a valid product patent in the US and South Africa, is an antioxidant with carrot extract (carotenoids and micronutrients), vitamins and minerals. The market size for the product is estimated at around $300 million. Ocugold contains lutein and zeaxanthin (two natural carotenoids identified in the retina) and is prescribed for ocular protection and age-related macular generation. Rufage, which is the only dietary fiber supplement in chewable granule form, is useful for those with obesity, diabetes, among others.

Ajanta Pharma, which went public earlier this year, is also scouting for brand acquisition opportunities in `growing segments' like antibiotics, cardiovasculars, neutraceuticals and anti-psychiatric drugs.

On new introductions, Mr Agrawal said that the company's ethical division plans to launch Carofit D, a line extension aimed at preventing diabetic complications, and Apcal Forte which combines the benefits of both calcium and vitamin C.