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Unfazed by Pakistan intermittently violating the Line of Control, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd (CPL) has decided to invest another Rs 100 crore on expansion, upgradation and modernisation of its manufacturing unit at Samba in Jammu district, just five km from the international border.
The pharma major had commenced phase-one commercial production at this unit in August 2006 with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore, and now manufactures 140 drugs, out of CPL’s overall basket of 750 products, in key therapeutic areas. “The 11-acre Samba unit contributes a fifth of our annual group turnover of nearly Rs 1,500 crore,” said Dr Rajiv I. Modi, Chairman and Managing Director, here.
CPL’s was the first factory to come up at Samba when the Jammu and Kashmir Government decided to provide tax benefits to attract investments in the last decade. “We have found this place quite safe and the authorities cooperative and now want to invest more if we get land adjoining our existing plant,” he said. The plant employs about 500 people, mostly locals.
The company is also awaiting environmental clearance for its proposed unit at Udaipur, Rajasthan, where it intends to invest Rs 150 crore initially on a 40-acre plot of land.
The privately-held company invests 6 to 7% of its revenues on R&D and has no immediate plans to go public. However, with a 30% annual growth, once its turnover crosses Rs 2,000 crore in the next couple of years, it could consider inorganic growth. Currently, CPL employs a total of 7,600 employees at its various plants.
Cadila Pharma’s exports to 40 countries comprise 30% of its revenues. With Welcome Trust, it is all set to launch a global clinical trial involving 5,000 people in six countries for the world’s first five-in-one patented drug Polycap for cardio-vascular diseases, launched by CPL in 2009, Dr Modi said.
The company is also bracing to enter the US market with 10 products in 2014-15. Its first overseas formulation manufacturing facility in Ethiopia, Africa, is the only WHO-eGMP compliant plant in the region.
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