HYDERABAD: Pharmaceutical company Granules India Ltd will invest $20 million in Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary in the US.
A meeting of its Board of Directors approved the additional investment in the subsidiary through which Granules last year had acquired a formulation facility in Virginia as part of a diversification strategy into high value, low volume products.
The proposed investment would be primarily be on product development and filing.
The acquisition is part of the focus on value added form of existing products and to concentrate on formulation research and development of complex molecules.
The primary focus, Granules had said last year, would be on formulation R&D with a list of 12-14 products, the Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for which were to be filed within 2-5 years.
Interim dividend
Apart from giving nod for the investment, the Board also approved third interim dividend of 25 paise per share (face value of ₹1 each) for 2016-17.
Giving details of the meeting as well as the performance for the third quarter, Granules on Saturday said the consolidated net profit during the quarter ended December 2016 was ₹39 crore, an increase of 34 per cent compared to the ₹29 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The total income rose 11 per cent to ₹359 crore (₹325 crore).
Chairman and managing director Krishna Prasad Chigurupati attributed the bottom line growth to “efficiency ecosystem and growing profitability from joint venture companies. Granules India is pursuing completion of API and PFI expansion plans and introduction of new products,” he said in a release.
The product portfolio of Granules includes Paracetamol/Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen.
During the quarter, Granules’ Gagillapur facility was inspected by USFDA as well as Portugal’s INFARMED. While the US regulator did not make any observation after inspecting the Gagillapur plant, it had made seven observations after an inspection of a joint venture facility (Ajinomoto OmniChem) in Visakhapatnam.
“For the observations issued by INFARMED for Gagillapur and USFDA for Visakhapatnam, we have submitted our response and are hopeful of getting positive response soon,” he said.
