Arch Pharmalabs expects Rs 34 crore venture capital fund

New Delhi, Apr 5 (UNI) Pharmacutical company Arch Pharmalabs Ltd (APL) is expecting a Rs 33.9 crore equity infusion from venture funds in the near future.

The fresh equity infusion would take the combined stake of venture funds in it to 45 per cent.

The pharma company has even signed contracts with three European firms for both patented and generic products, each of which is expected to generate annual revenues of around Rs 25 crore.

These contracts are expected to generate revenues from the current financial year.

APL's global leadership in isoxasole side chain of semi-synthetic pencillin has paved way for its entry into supplying Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), a recent ICRA report showed.

APL, formed by the reverse merger of Arch Commerz Pvt Ltd and Merven Drug Products Ltd, has a total production capacity of about 1,500 tonnes per annum (tpa), with manufacturing facilities at Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Badlpur and Tarapur, besides leased facilities at Taloja and Ambernath.

During the first half of 2005-06, APL reported a revenue growth of 40.2 per cent to Rs 103.3 crore over the corresponding period in the previous year.

The operating margins of APL also increased by 100 basis points to 19.7 per cent during the same period. APL continued to grow its Isoxazole business in 2005-06 and also benefitted from the growth in its API business prompted by the acquisition of twin API facilities in Gurgaon and Badlapur.

UNI MP SR BD1527