Panandikar: Aiming big

Mumbai, Oct. 5: Indoco Remedies, the Rs 728-crore pharmaceutical company, is looking at an 18 per cent growth in its domestic formulation business, driven by product launches, a strong staff strength and focus on chronic therapy.

The mid-sized drug company has been posting higher growth rates than the industry average over the past five years despite frequent regulatory changes and tough competition in a fragmented sector that consists of at least 5,000 small, medium and large players.

Domestic formulations contribute around 60 per cent of Indoco’s sales.

Aditi Kare Panandikar, managing director of Indoco, told The Telegraph that this year the company would launch 25-30 products across its seven marketing divisions.

The focus, however, has been on not just bringing the brands into the market, but also building them, Panandikar said.

“Indoco has been known for creating brands in an ethical manner and this has been one of our key strengths. India is not a market where one can simply rush in brands, they have to be built and this has been our area of focus,” she said.

Indoco, which initially targeted therapeutic segments such as cough, cold and pain, has graduated to speciality or niche categories such as dental care and ophthalmology. It also caters to other high-growth areas such as anti-diabetes and cardio-vascular.

The company launched seven products during the first quarter of this year across key segments such as ophthal, pain, respiratory, vitamins and stomachology.

Panandikar said the chronic segment (diabetes, oncology) would also be key growth drivers for the domestic business.

She did not rule out the possibility of Indoco looking at in-licensing opportunities in dental and ophthalmology.

East on radar

Indoco, which has seen its share price surge more than 108 per cent so far this calendar year, is also betting on higher productivity from its 2,300-field force and greater contribution from the eastern market in the coming months.