Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

completed

OCPL is an existing company with a capacity to make around 665tpa cephalosporins and other pharmaceutical products at Alathur near Chennai. More than 80% of its production is currently exported to Asia, the Middle-East. Small quantities also go to Latin America. The turnover for the current year, ending March 2001, is estimated at US$89 million. The company is expecting to earn a net profit of US$8.5 million. The project envisages expansion and diversification of the company''s product mix and geographical reach so as to include developed countries and as to be able to sustain its business even after WTO regulations are in place.With its support to OCPL, IFC will assist a medium-sized company to grow and transform itself from a bulk drug company into a well-integrated pharmaceutical company with strong capabilities in research and formulations business. In this way, OCPL would be in a position to sustain its growth and profitabilty and expand its operations into the regulated markets.The project will significantly demonstrate how domestic companies can shift gears to meet emerging challenges (WTO induced regulatory reforms) and simultaneously use their strong comparative advantages, of low cost production and pool of trained scientists, to exploit the opportunities that are likely to be available in the domestic market.