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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025

 

--Concord Biotech: Ahmedabad injectable unit commercial ops to start by March

--Concord Biotech CEO: To supply injectables in domestic markets for now

--Concord Biotech CEO: To launch injectables in emerging markets in phase 2

--Concord Biotech CEO: To launch injectables in regulated markets in phase 3

--Concord Biotech CEO: Spent INR 2 billion on injectables plant

--Concord Biotech CEO: Eye INR 5 bln-INR 6 bln/yr sales from injectable unit

--Concord Biotech CEO: No major capex plans for coming 3-5 years

--Concord Biotech CEO: Hope to achieve 25?GR growth in revenue, up from 18%

 

By Sunil Raghu

 

AHMEDABAD - Concord Biotech Ltd. is all set to begin commercial production at its newly-built injectable facility in Ahmedabad by the end of March, according to Chief Executive Officer Ankur Vaid. "The facility has been undergoing validation tests for over six to eight months and will initially focus on supplying in the domestic market," he told Informist recently.

 

The injectable facility, located in Valthera, is designed to produce various delivery forms, such as liquid vials, lyophilised vials, dry powder injections, and sterile powder lyophilisation. The company has invested INR 2 billion in this plant and expects to generate revenue 2.5 to 3.0 times the investment when the facility is fully operational.

 

The company had initially planned to start commercial operations by Jul-Sept, but "certain" activities took longer than expected, Vaid said. In the second phase, Concord Biotech aims to expand its injectable sales to emerging markets and then eventually to the regulated markets.

 

Concord Biotech claims that it is the only company globally to manufacture the entire range of immunosuppressant active pharmaceutical ingredients through the fermentation process. These immunosuppressant drugs are essential for organ transplant patients, many of whom rely on them for life. The global increase in organ transplants, including liver and kidney transplants, is expected to drive demand for these APIs. Concord Biotech also supplies key raw materials to major pharmaceutical companies such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Mylan Inc., and Strides Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

 

Vaid said the API unit at Dholka in Ahmedabad, which has a total fermentation capacity of 450 metre cube, is operating at 78?pacity utilisation, up from 75.11% last year. The second API unit at Limbasi in Kheda district with 800 metre cube fermentation capacity is currently operating at 36?pacity, up from 32-33% as on Mar. 31, 2024. The oral solid drug formulations unit at Valthera, with capacity of 802 million units, is operating at 22?pacity, up from 18% last year.

 

Vaid does not see any major regulatory challenges, as the company's Unit 2 & 3 have all the requisite regulatory clearances, including from the US Food and Drug Administration. However, Unit 1 is due for USFDA inspection as it was last done in 2019. All the units, Vaid claimed, also have requisite clearances from European, Brazilian and Japanese regulatory agencies.

 

The company also does not foresee the need for significant capital expenditure over the next three to five years. Despite this, the company is optimistic about revenue growing at compound annual growth rate of 25% over the next five years, driven by increased capacity utilisation, steady order flow, and the commencement of commercial activity at the Valthera injectable plant. Historically, the company has achieved CAGR of 18% on a consolidated revenue basis.

 

At 1356 IST, shares of Concord Biotech were up 2.8% at INR 2,327 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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