Corona Remedies plans to shift all female-hormone product manufacturing activities from Himachal Pradesh to Gujarat, after the pharmaceutical company completes commissioning a ₹150 crore greenfield hormone facility in Ahmedabad.
“We will be able to start the new hormone plant (at Bhayla village near Ahmedabad) within the next 12 months. We will first cater to the India business and then we will tap the world market. The products will focus on women in the age group of 20-50 years,” Nirav Mehta, Founder, MD & CEO of the company said on Thursday.
The company already manufactures female hormone products at its manufacturing facility at Solan in Himachal Pradesh. “As the Solan unit is in the hills, it is difficult to expand it. Once we start the Ahmedabad (hormone) unit, we will shut down hormone manufacturing at Solan,” Mehta said, adding that currently the 50 lakh units of various female hormones are produced at Solan annually. The capacity vacated by the shifting of hormone production at Solan will be used for manufacturing liquid orals.
The Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company is currently in the process of seeking WHO and EU-GMP certifications for a new hormone product manufacturing unit which will have a capacity to manufacture 20 crore units of tablets, soft gel capsules and ointments of various female hormones like Progesterone, Estradiol Hemihydrate among others. The new unit received Gujarat’s FDCA licence in February 2024.
In 2020, Corona Remedies had picked up a minority stake in Gujarat-based hormone API manufacturer LA Chandra Pharmalab, which has international regulatory approvals for a range of hormone APIs. “ Hormonal imbalances, infertility and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) among females is increasing due to stress, food habits and other reasons. These are silent problems, but are growing in this country and world... There are about 25 crore women in the age group of 20-50 years in India and we strongly believe that we need this sort of facility in India,” Mehta said, adding that Corona will source the necessary raw materials for the hormone plant from La Chandra Pharmalab’s unit at Palanpur in North Gujarat.
The company’s revenues touched the ₹100 crore mark in 2014. In the current financial year, the company has targeted to achieve ₹1200 crore in revenues. “We are looking to achieve ₹2500 crore in revenues in the next five years. The hormone plant will be one of the engines that will power our growth trajectory. Today 97 per cent of our revenues come from the domestic business , while the rest comes from exports. In days to come, the export percentage will go up to 8 per cent,” Mehta said. Of the total revenue pie of the company, women healthcare contributes 35 per cent of the revenue, while metabolic disorder and pain management contributes an additional 35 and 30 percent, respectively.
Corona has an installed capacity to produce 60 crore tablets, 24 crore tablets and 2 crore sachets at its Ahmedabad manufacturing facility. The unit at Solan can manufacture 40 crore tablets and capsules and one crore liquid bottles.