Glaxo exports maiden ranitidine-base consignment
Anju Ghangurde
MUMBAI, Dec 28: Glaxo India has exported its first consignment of ranitidine base, an advanced intermediate used in manufacture of key anti-ulcer formulation, Zantac. Ranitidine base will be converted to ranitidine hydrchloride to meet the global secondary formulation needs of the British multinational.Glaxo India officials confirmed the development, though it is understood that the consignment represents only a small part of Glaxo Wellcome's global requirements. Glaxo expects to export up to 60 tonnes of the product by the end of 1998. Industry sources said that the company has despatched a 2,430kg consignment of ranitidine base to Singapore after having successfully completed a three-stage validation. Subsequently, another 6.5 tonnes of ranitidine base was scheduled for exports though no confirmation on whether this had been done was available. Glaxo India currently manufactures ranitidine at its Ankleshwar plant in Gujarat and uses the brand name Zinetac locally for its ranitidine HCL tablets.Analysts
said that Glaxo has an installed capacity of approximately 120 tonnes for ranitidine and this could go up to 150 tonnes with certain minor modifications. They said that Glaxo's export of ranitidine base could possibly increase over the years given the low-cost advantage and India's proximity to the neighbouring markets of south-east Asia, Africa and the Middle East."To face cut-throat generic competition now that Zantac is off patent, the Glaxo Wellcome group may increasingly turn to its Indian subsidiary for it ranitidine requirements," an analyst said. Glaxo's anti-ulcer drug Zantac became a $1 billion product before going off patent on July 26, 1997, in the US market. Analysts see ranitidine exports touching about Rs 18 crore by the end of next year. This, analysts said, was "not insignificant" given that the company's total exports are estimated at approximately Rs 25 crore. No official confirmation on these projections were available.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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