Aurobindo Pharma buys US-based cGMP

Aurobindo Pharma has acquired USFDA compliant cGMP facility. Director of Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Lanka Srinivas says that the total consideration paid for the facility is less than $25 million.

He feels that it would now be convenient to manufacture some of the products, which is generally done in the US. He further adds that oral dosage formulations like tablets and capsules will be produced at this facility.

Excerpts from CNBC - TV18's exclusive interview with Lanka Srinivas:

What was the total consideration paid for the facility?

We have not disclosed it but it is approximately less than USD 25 million.Q: What is the primary reason for this acquisition? Will you be looking at using this facility for distribution of products?

It will help us to distribute the products. There is also a manufacturing area in this facility. So it is convenient to manufacture some of the products at this facilty, which we need to do in the US.

How many products are you looking at?

It depends on the requirements in the markets. It is quite a sizeable facility; it is about 100,000 square feet. The capacity of this facility is quite big. It is more than a billion tablet caps, which is quite significant in size.

Which formulations are to be produced at this facility?

Oral dosage formulations like tablets and capsules will be produced at this facility.

What is the kind of expected revenues from Cefuroxime Axetil approval in Q1 FY07?

We have got the approval and the product will be in the market. We have got approval for products worth $45-50 million. We are getting a decent market share for each of those products.

You have also received a tentative nod for an anti-AIDS generic. What are the revenue expectations from that?

If you are referring to the fixed dose combination, it is Lamuvudine, Zidovudine and Nifedipine. It is the first time in the world where we have filed a fixed dose of combination as ANDA. When the patent is approved, we will be able to launch this product in the US market. For Africa and 100 other countries, we will be able to market this product.

When will you start marketing this drug?

All the three components are very strong and are particularly integrated. Most of the patients are looking for such a combination because it is convenient and advantageous in terms of cost.

How many new filings do you expect in FY07 and how many new products do you plan to launch?

We have already filed 60 (68) ANDAs in the US market. Generally, we do about 7-9 filings every quarter and over a period of time, we will get that many approvals every quarter. So far, we have received about 23-24 approvals, about 13 are tentative and 10 are final. So, the rate of approvals is also catching up to the rate of filings.