Pharma biggies unveil India growth plans

MUMBAI: Two global pharma companies bearing similar names are unveiling new big plans for India, a testimony to the changing healthcare scenario in the country. US-based $22.6 billion Merck & Co., has hired a new team comprising senior professionals to set up full fledged India operations while the original West Germany-based Merck KGaA, one of the oldest drug and chemical companies in the world, will expand manufacturing operations and acquire new businesses, giving a new impetus to the Indian business.
The two companies are distinct corporate entities, though US-based entity was once a wholly-owned subsidiary of German company. Since the World War, when the US government forfeited all German businesses, Merck & Co., became a separate entity.
Says Marek Dziki, MD, Merck (India), a subsidiarly of Merck KGaA: “The buzz around India started in our global headquarters towards 2005-end. The opportunity is so exciting that we have a special stragtegy in place to grow our business in the fast track.”
To start with, Merck (India) will start manufacturing additional pharmaceutical products in Goa factory and launch more oncology drugs in two years. Dziki says that there are plans afoot to increase facilities for contract manufacturing of speciality chemicals, as there is a demand from overseas customers. “This business is growing at more than 20% and India has a lot of advantages to offer in terms of manpower and costs.” He declined to disclose investment details but said that the “global headquarters” had high expectations from the Indian market.
Later this week, Merck executive board chairman Jon Baumhauer will visit India for the first time.
US-based Merck & Co., which stayed out of the Indian market until recently, is expanding its team to launch more of its research products. Recently, the company is said to have hired two senior executives from Aventis for its A-Pac operations. Industry sources say that Merck (US) is soon expected to launch the latest diabetes drug Januvia in the local market.