AJANTA PHARMA Share price

Ajanta Pharma Limited is a profit making dividend paying company engaged in manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products both in India and abroad. The Philosophy of Enterprism i.e. "The art of creating opportunities and optimising them" has been the guiding force behind the Company. Driven by the mission of `serving global health care needs with empathy innovation and technology'' the Company has created a niche for itself in the domestic and international market.Established in 1973 as a proprietary concern re-packing andmarketing of formulations were its main activities. The focus was on establishing the brands in the market with a well laid Out marketing and distribution infrastructure. The company identified a niche segment of OTC formulations like Eucalyptus oil Boric Acid. etc in small packs the supplies of which were centralised from Mumbai and thus had a good potential for marketing from Aurangabad. During a period of six years the company built a basket of ten OTC brands and a marketing infrastructure spread in entire Marathwada region.During this period the Company continued its search for some more formulations for creating brands. In this phase it identified the segments of gripe water and glucose which were best suited for branded formulations in the OTC category as against their predominant generic presence. Thus the two successful brands of APL were launched in 1979 namely `Pinkoo'' Gripe Water and `Apcose D'' glucose powder. It was at this stage that the Company shifted to manufacturing from repackingand set up its first manufacturing plant at Chikalthana Aurangabad.While establishing a few more brands like Trimol etc the Company also entered the institutional segment like hospitals CSD defence UNICEF UNHCR municipalities and Government health departments in 1981. Some of the brands like `Apdyl-H'' and `Apectorant'' became successful in the institutional segment. In a short span of 5 years growth in the business necessitated setting up the second manufacturing facility in 1984 at Paithan near Aurangabad. Both the units at Chikalthana and Paithan are approved for the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) guidelines prescribed by WHO (World Health Organisation). These facilities manufacture a whole range of products like Tablets Capsules Liquids and Powders.During 1979 to 1984 the company became one of the major OTC player in the state of Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka and Gujarat. With the success in the OTC segment the research & development activity of the company then started focusing on new formulation developments where it tried to blend the ancient Ayurveda with the modern medicine for the benefit of the society. This was identified as a niche area having potential for OTC promotion in the lifestyle product segment.A major success of the marketing and research efforts came in the form of the launch of its brand `Thirty Plus'' in 1990 which elevated Ajanta Pharma to a national player. During the next 5 years APL strengthened its OTC basket with products like Figurin Beauty Plus Livoplus which enabled it to built a niche in many segments in the market place. The investment on formulation development resulted in having a basket of varied product range and dosage forms catering to all age groups -pediatrics middle age and geriatrics.Some of the major OTC brands owned by the Company are :* Pinkoo Gripe Water - Carmanative for children* Apcose D - Glucose powder* Thirty Plus - Energy CapsulesFigurin - Herbal Slimming CapsulesStamina - For Vigour and Vitality* Trimol - Pain Reliever* Livoplus - Liver protector against alcohol damageThis product basket enabled Ajanta Pharma to enter the international market in 1992 and today the Company is in the process of establishing its products in 40 countries in different parts of the world. To strengthen its presence in the international market the Company ventured in the markets of Africa and Central Asia by establishing joint ventures in these regions.After the breakup of erstwhile USSR in 1992 there emerged a new market for Indian companies to explore in the form of Central Asian Republic (CAR) countries with a block of 5 nations namely Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The strategy adopted by APL was that these are the markets which are completely virgin and could be conquered only with an innovative approach. Hence the joint ventures were formed with the local governments which werelooking for timely availability of life saving medicines at an affordable cost coupled with savings in foreign exchange. APL could establish its brands in these countries thereby establishing the brands in the international market.Another region identified by the company with potential for establishing its brand world wide was Africa especially the Western part which provided good growth potential. Hence the company established a marketing base in Mauritius supported by a manufacturing plant taking advantage of the trade block formed by the African countries with Mauritius as the member.After establishing itself in the international market with OTC brands supported by the Ethical range of life saving drugs the company decided to enter the domestic ethical market with niche segments through innovative research products. Its products like Carofit Rufage and Ocugold have created its own category which has given the company a head start in the otherwise fiercely competitive and crowded market. Apart from the niche segments the Company has presence in anti-TB cardio-vascular and anti-infective product segment. These products are also being exported to many countries where the Company isestablishing its presence.With its foray in the international market the need for basic research and product innovation was felt essential for sustenance and further growth. To meet this requirement the Company established a modern state-of-the-art Research and Development center at Kandivli Mumbai in 1996. This Centre is recognised by the Department Of Scientific and Industrial Research Ministry of Science And Technology Government ofIndia. A major breakthrough came in research in 1998 when Ajanta Pharma filed its first global patent for natural carotenoids extracted from carrots through an innovative aqueous route. Today within a span of just one year the Company has filed 9 more global patents and is working on several more.The company entered in the bulk drug segment as a backward integration in 1998 with semi synthetic penicillin and then switched over to cefalosporins. However due to the turbulent market conditions lack of economies of scale and lack of infrastructure for reverse engineering the set objective could not be achieved. The Company therefore decided to exit from the bulk drug business and hive off its bulk drug manufacturing facility. Accordingly APL entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (`Orchid'') on December 30 1999 for sale of its Bulk Drug plantto the latter. The parties have signed the Plant Purchase Agreement on February 11 2000 and the entire bulk drug unit has been transferred to Orchid with effect from that date. SUBSIDIARIES OF THE COMPANYAPL has the following subsidiaries :1. Surkhan Ajanta Pharma Ltd.2. Ajanta Pharma (Mauritius) Ltd.3. Ajanta Pharma (Tashkent) Ltd.4. Ajanta Pharma (USA) Inc.5. Kazakh Ajanta Pharma Ltd.6. Kyrgyz Ajanta Pharma Ltd.