Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd is setting up a new greenfield manufacturing facility in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park at a cost of Rs 45 crore ($10 million). The project, which is expected to go on stream by the end of 2007, will offer the company a major advantage in the cost of production since the cost of utilities in China is half the costs incurred in India. The company plans to manufacture six non-GMP (good manufacturing practices) quartenary compounds (Quats) and five intermediates in the plant. The GMP products will be produced in the first phase of the project. In the second phase, contract manufacturing facilities, including US-FDA compliant API plants, will be developed. Overall, there is a plan to manufacture 11 drugs for the European and American markets.
The Shanghai unit of the Dishman Pharmaceuticals is being developed on an area of 80,000 m2 in the chemical park that provides co-generation facilities such as stream, compressed air, solvent storage and natural gas and effluent treatment. The early intermediates will be manufactured from basic chemicals in China and later transferred to the company’s Ahmedabad plant for further processing.
The company’s specialty chemicals such as ammonium and phosphonium Quats will not only serve as inputs for the manufacture of active pharma ingredients and intermediates but will also be useful in the processing and production of agro-chemicals, polymers and surfactants.
The China plant will be built in accordance with the safety standards and environment regulations. Separate units will be set up under the effluent treatment facility including aeration tanks, oil and grease separators, filters and dryer beds. The plant will also house ample fire safety measures besides regular fire training sessions.
With the new plant in Shanghai, Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd will cut down on its costs that will be half the cost incurred on the production in India. The cost of power is Rs 2.5 per unit in China and that of natural gas is Rs 6.54. Also, the manufacturing facility will serve as a gateway to the South Asian markets, especially the Japanese market. The cost of commodity chemicals will also come down by 20 percent. Apart from the savings on transport and effluent treatment costs, the Chinese facility Dishman can also give a goby on the transfer price between India and China.
Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals is an Ahmedabad-based company diversified into contract research and manufacturing operations with its manufacturing facilities located in Ahmedabad. The company is emerging as one of the leading Contract Manufacturing Outsourcing units in India.
