Pharma MSMEs look for a growth potion

Gujarat's pharmaceutical sector, which was an evergreen industry during the Great Depression, earned significant investments, but 700-700 new businesses are fighting to maintain market expansion.s Parag Dave explains their upheavals.Gujarat is the country's drug industry.At least a third of the country's pharmaceutical production is concentrated in the state.

Since 2020-21, 700-odd new players had to obtain drug manufacturing licenses, and many of them have now underutilized capabilities.Several pharmaceutical firms opened branches in Gujarat in the last three years.From April 2020 to November 2022, we issued 747 drug manufacturing licences.Many of the recipients have established gardens while the rest are in the process of doing so.

Manufacturers are finding it difficult to maintain their operations as a result of increasing competition, according to industry sources.HOF Pharmaceuticals, which is headquartered in Ahmedabad, made a plant to produce pharmaceutical formulations and began it in December last year.Our plant, which has a capacity of 260 crore tablets, 30 crore capsules, and 26 lakh litre of liquids per year, is currently operating at 50%.According to Pravin Patel, the company's chairman, 20% of the money is used to manufacture our own products and 30% is used for contract manufacturing.

By 2024, the HOF is expected to obtain European permissions for its plant.We will be able to penetrate European markets and expand our realization and revenue streams as a result of this.Patel said that we are now exporting to African markets and that we expect to introduce more products for cardiovascular, nervous, immune, and endocrine therapies.Tachyons Lifesciences, headquartered in Himmatnagar, is investing Rs 50 crore in a new plant that will produce ointments, capsules, and tablets, which will be operational next year.

The scenario for new entrants in the pharma industry is becoming all the more difficult amid global economic instability.While we wait for foreign government approvals, we are relying on contract manufacturing and product development, said Santosh Shah, the firm's CEO.Many players have ventured into pharmaceutical production since the Invasion of Covid-19, drawn by the rewards.This was the case with Kadibased Uniza Healthcare LLP, a textile firm founded by a veteran businessman.

For example, African countries have now adopted more stringent rules for the import of drugs, which has harmed the industry's export potential.According to industry executives, new entrants would most certainly face more hardships in such a scenario.We have sent dossiers to many countries and are waiting for product approvals.To survive in the present situation, we are turning to merchant exporters and experimenting with new ways to keep going until we reach maximum capacity utilization, said Saurin Parikh, the company's CMD.