Shasun Pharmaceuticals expects to set up its long over-due plant in Visakhapatnam this year.

The delay was due to the time taken for “identification of the right product mix”, but now Shasun is ready to go ahead. The company will invest Rs 100 crore in the plant that will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), but the investment will be spread over two years.

In the current year, Shasun will spend Rs 20 crore on the plant, Mr Abhaya Kumar, Managing Director, Shasun Pharmaceuticals, told Business Line today.

Mr Kumar, a member of the promoter-family who took over as the Managing Director on April 1, plans to cleave the company into strategic business units — API, formulations, contract manufacturing, biotech and nanotechnology.

Japan FTA

Shasun expects $15-20 million (about Rs 90 crore) revenue from Japan and the neighbouring markets such as Korea and China in the next two years. Mr Kumar said the Free Trade Agreement signed by Japan and India has helped the pharmaceutical industry. The Japanese are now open to accepting generics from India to reduce the cost of their healthcare.

The other advantage in Japan would be having strategic buyers for the long term (say 10 years), while in other countries it may be for smaller periods, he said. Shasun has an office in Japan that is headed by a Japanese; the office caters to markets such as Korea and China.

Strike in Puducherry plant

Workers in the Puducherry plant have been on strike since Tuesday (May 10). The plant manufactures oral solid dosages with annual production capacity of 3 billion tablets and 120 million capsules. Mr Kumar said work would resume in couple of days with wage negotiations being undertaken.

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