The second largest international pharma company in the eyecare market of Russia, Delhi based Promed Group plans to enter the regulated markets of USA and European Union by 2010-11 in the vertical of sterile products.

As far as government approvals from the respective countries are concerned, the pharma company is expecting inspections from the European pharma regulator within 2008 and US FDA by mid 2009.

According to Deepak Bahri, president, Promed, ?We are expecting a visit from the European regulatory body this year itself and from US FDA sometime in mid 2009.We are quite confident that our facility (manufacturing plant at Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh) would meet the quality standards of regulatory agencies like US FDA and other regulatory authorities. The manufacturing plant already has WHO certification.?

Apart from above the company also plans to expand operations to South American market, especially Brazil in near future.

Promed which had set up its manufacturing facility in Nalagarh of Himachal Pradesh in 2007, with an investment of Rs 55 crore is planning to double the capacity of the plant in 12 to 18 months.

Currently supporting a capacity of 90 million units, the company plans to invest to the tune of Rs 50 crore to double the capacity of the plant.

The $ 17 million pharma company which devotes 8 to 9% of its revenue on research and development is currently working on 45 new products in the sterile segment and plans to file around 12 to 15 Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDAs) with the USFDA over next two years. ?We have identified products, the patents of which will expire in next 7 to 10 years, particularly in the areas of new therapeutic areas of oncology and gastroenterology. These are the verticals we would be interested in apart from focusing on our core competence ?

The pharma company which has an annual turnover of $ 17 million has an aim to touch a turnover of $ 100 million by 2012-13.Asked whether the company that has been registering a CAGR of more than 30% since last five years plans an initial public offer, Bahri said ?IPO is on cards but around three to four years from now, when we attain a turnover of $ 75 to 100 million.?