The contribution of the new products to the turnover will be around 10 per cent to 12 per cent as in last year, Ray said at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday.

The medical nutritional and paediatric nutritional segment will see the addition of seven new products each, while five new products will be introduced in the pharmaceuticals segment. A product each will be introduced in the hospital and diagnostics segments.

On the company's performance in the current year, Ray stated that hospital and nutritional products will be the major growth drivers, besides a new anti-viral, anti-cancer and a broad spectrum injectable antibiotic in the pharma business.

Segment-wise, the pharma unit will contribute 61.5 per cent, while consumer products will contribute to 14 per cent of the turnover. Nutritional products and hospital products will account for 11.4 per cent and 13 per cent respectively during 2000-2001. This will transform Abbott from a predominantly pharmaceutical company into a diversified healthcare company, Ray said.

The company, which currently has a co-marketing arrangement with Glaxo and Cadila, may extend this arrangement with other companies in light of the new product launches.

The company has successfully commenced marketing of Similac Advance-2 and Isomil in pediatric nutritionals and Suplena and Nepro in medical nutritionals in select markets and the results were promising, Abbott India chairman RA Shah said.

Ray said the impact of the downward revision in the prices of Erythrocin, Surbex T and ZenbexT - key products contributing 40 per cent of the turnover - by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) during the year 1999-2000 was 9.9 per cent in value terms on the top and bottomline of the company. Of this Erythrocin accounts for four per cent while the vitamin segment comprising SurbexT and ZenbexT accounted for 5.9 per cent.To negate the impact of price reduction and drive business growth during 1999-2000, management focused its strategy on driving volume sales focusing on high growth therapeutic categories and improving organisational efficiency among others, Ray added.