TORRENT SELL OFF, ELDER PHARMA

POST TORRENT SELL OFF, ELDER PHARMA HOPES TO DO A SHELCAL WITH ELDERVIT, LAYS OUT PRODUCT EXTENSIONS TO MAKE IT A RS 100 CRORE BRAND

·         Self Owned Brands to get a major boost especially in the fields of anti-infectives, Lifestyle Diseases, Dermatology and neurology segments

With the closure of its Rs 2000 crore deal with Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd involving selling off of more than 30 ethical brands including Shelcal, Elder Pharmaceuticals Ltd plans to create a super brand out of Eldervit with product extensions and large scale geographical expansion. A much leaner and low-debted company now, Elder Pharma is laying emphasis on expanding the brands remaining with itself post selloff – the chief being Eldervit, a nutraceutical with a current turnover of approx. Rs 40 crore. Eldervit is a prescription drug which acts as a Vitamin & Minerals supplement to boost energy.

Says Mr Alok Saxena, Managing Director, Elder Pharma, “In addition to Injection form, we are making Eldervit available in Capsules, Gel Capsules and Sachet forms to make it acceptable to all age groups. With its new range and aggressive national expansion, Elder hopes to add a million customers every month and make Eldervit a Rs 100 crore brand by the end of financial year 2016 and a Rs 300 crore brand by FY 2019.” Another product which is being revamped and upgraded is Thrive a natural nutritional supplement for fighting chronic metabolic disorders which is likely to generate sales of Rs 10 crore in the current fiscal with anticipated growth of 12-15% every year. Product extensions of Thrive too have been launched in drink, capsules and tablets form.

With a view to capture a larger share of the highly competitive anti-infectives market Elder is restructuring & expanding its team as also rationalizing prices to ramp up volumes. Anti-infectives like Cefixime based Formic and Elfi have been registering a growth of more than 12% every year and are expected to grow at 15% annually from now.

The company’s major focus areas in the years to come shall be in the anti infectives, Lifestyle deases Dermatology and Neurological segments. Anti infectives segment contributes about 10% to the company’s turnover and is likely to witness a major price revamp in order to garner a larger share in the domestic market. Elder’s International operations are registering steady growth and more than 40% of Elder revenue is likel yto come from its global business.

As a apart of the deal with Torrent – which also involved the transfer of Elder’s domestic business employees to Torrent - Elder shall utilize its six plants for contract manufacture of the formulations business sold to Torrent for 3 years which will fetch Elder a continous revenue stream of Rs 70 - 75 crore every year.Elder group is targeting a turnover of about Rs 1000 crs from its domestic and international operations by FY 2016.