The company plans to raise Rs 40-50 crore from the proposed issue which will also enable the company to fund its new plant at Goa to the extent of Rs 15 crore. An additional Rs 8 crore will be utilised for its new R&D centre in Andheri in Mumbai. Besides, Indoco Remedies is also investing Rs 7 crore to register brands in countries worldwide.

The company has finalised the merchant banker for the issue. However, IRL chairman and managing director Suresh Kare did not reveal the same since the agreement was to be formally signed. The new plant at Goa would be fully automatic, dedicated to opthalmic and injectibles with a capacity of 300 lakh ampules and 120 lakh vials per annum respectively. The plant would be commissioned by August 2001, Mr Kare said. Post public issue, the 72 per cent stake held by Mr Kare, the promoter, would be reduced to around 56 per cent. The R&D centre commissioned two months back at Andheri would concentrate in NDDS as well as registering brands in other countries.

"Innovative formulations made out of existing molecules which are off-patent would be our focus", Mr Kare added.

Indoco, whose two brands Cyclopam and Fabrex figures in the top 250 brands as per ORG's survey, is likely to have one more brand Vepan (anti-biotic) in the list. The company which derives 98 per cent of its total revenue from prescription drugs, is ranked 23rd in terms of prescription audit as per the ORG survey. The company, which has a total manpower strength of around 800 employees - a large share of which constitute field force - plans to increase it to 1,300 after the issue. The increased filed force would be utilised to foray the north. Indoco, which had posted a turnover of Rs 125 crore and a net profit of Rs 13 crore along with its two wholly owned subsidiaries, is set to post a turnover of Rs 150 crore and a bottomline of Rs 20 crore for 2000-2001, Mr Kare said.