INDIAN pharmaceutical companies with a presence in the sterile injectables space are expanding capacities to cater to growing demand in this segment. Bangalore-based Strides Arcolab, Elder Pharmaceuticals are some of the companies that have laid out plans for growth including expansion of existing units and also building new units to meet growing demand. Elder Pharmaceuticals is setting up a new injectables unit near Dehradun. The global market for injectables is estimated to touch $245 billion by 2012 and is expected to grow at a rate of 11%. The global injectable drug market in 2008 was $150 billion, of which generic injectables comprised $30 billion. Elder Pharmaceuticals is increasing its capacities in the injectables segment. The company is setting up a new plant at Langa Road near Dehradun at a cost of nearly Rs 120 crore. Alok Saxena, a director at Elder said, We have completed almost 65% of the construction. In the first phase, which should start in three months, we intend to focus on vials. In a years time we hope to move into manufacturing of cephalosporins. This market is growing and we see a lot of opportunity in India. The companys multivitamin injectable product, Eldervit, currently enjoys a market domination of 70%. While in markets like Germany and United Kingdom, generic penetration has been as high as 70%, especially in oncology, there are other markets such as Spain and Italy, where generic penetration is still low. In case of United States, generic penetration by volume is 63% and by value is 42% and continues to grow. In India as well, the injectable market has shown significant growth with large potential for more. According to research consultancy firm ORG IMS, the moving annual total in the domestic market for injectables was Rs 5631.10 crore for the year ended December 2008. Injectable antibiotics market in particular has witnessed strong growth, analysts said. Jumana Barnagarwala, head of healthcare consulting at market analysis firm Datamonitor said, The injectable antibiotics market in India has shown robust growth in the last 4-5 years mainly because of the introduction of high-end antibiotic brands at higher prices and the subsequent proliferation of generic versions of many of the leading high-end antibiotic brands. The domestic injectable antibiotics market is worth $425 million and has been growing at a CAGR of 21% in the last three years. (Source: excerpt from The Economic Times, New Delhi dated on 30.3.2009)

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