Betting big on generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), city-based contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) player Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals plans to launch 60 generic APIs within the next two years.
"We have taken a two way approach in APIs, from being just a CRAMS player, we have now become a CRAMS and API player. We are planning to launch 60 generic APIs by the end of 2013-14 financial year. Of this, at least 30 APIs will be launched during the current financial year, while the remaining will be launched during FY14", explained J R Vyas, chairman and managing director of Dishman Pharma.
He added that the company has already filed 20 drug master files (DMFs), and another 20 DMFs are in the pipeline.
A DMF is a document prepared by a pharmaceutical manufacturer containing information on an API or a finished drug, and is submitted by the manufacturer to appropriate regulatory authority in the intended market.
Dishman currently exports APIs to countries in Europe and Latin America apart from the US and Japan.
The company has a 60-member strong team of scientists working on generic APIs.
With more and more drugs going off patent, and their generic variants coming into the market, demand for APIs that go into making these formulations is set to rise.
Dishman has recently entered into a license agreement with Liverpool-based firm RedX Pharma to use patented technology to process rosuvastatin, a class of prescription drugs that help lower cholesterol and risk of heart attacks.
Dishman already supplies several statins to different clients across the globe
Vyas said that RedX uses enzymes technology to process statins, and this would help them reduce cost of production, and in turn boost the CRAMS portfolio.
Dishman already has a product portfolio of bulk APIs in the antiseptic, anaesthetic, laxative, anti-diabetic, anti-fungal, diuretic, analgesic, anti-ulcer segments.
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