Wockhardt chairman Habil F Khorakiwala said the company was at present carrying out detailed evaluation of these two new drugs and will seek intenational alliances only after this process was completed. The company has already screened over 600 molecules.

The Rs 402-crore Wockhardt has also filed international patents for three technologies involving new drug delivery systems, besides moving towards filing applications with the US FDA for six formulations and nine bulk drugs which are in the pipeline for 1999.

Wockhardt's progress on the drug discovery front comes alongside a string of new marketing alliances with Japanese firms, DaiichiPharmaceuticals and Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Wockhardt has acquired the marketing rights for Daiichi's haemostatic product and Hisamitsu's unique drug delivery system for pain management.

Khorakiwala also said that as part of its long-term corporate strategy, Wockhardt had been focusing on building a strong brand. "The true value of Wockhardt is not only represented by its tangible assets, but more so by its intangibles like the Wockhardt brand and its intellectual capital in technology and R&D." The inherent worth of the Wockhardt brand is estimated at Rs 331.9 crore.

The company was also working towards the `Europeanisation' of the UK-based Wallis Laboratories acquired by the company earlier this year. This effort is expected to entail acquiring licenses, registration of the company's products and strategic partnerships.

Khorakiwala later told shareholders at the annual general meeting that in the next three years the company's priority will be to improve return on investment and enhanceshareholder value. "As a first step we have improved our net operating working capital and brought it down from 89 days to 66 days bringing a saving of approximately Rs 25 crore," he said.

He also added that the company's exposure to the troubled Russian market had always been `limited' and that the collapse of the economy there had not affected it significantly.