RPG Life Sciences

Mr M.H. Narasimhan, Chief Executive- Global Formulations 

Mr P.K. Pathak, Vice President & BU Head- Global Formulations 

Mr R.R. Dalvi, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer 

Mr G. Srinivas, Vice President & Head of Business-Global Generics, API & Biotech 

RPG Life Sciences (RPGLS) is an Indian Pharmaceutical Company. Formerly known as Searle (India) Ltd, RPG Life Sciences is part of RPG Enterprises. It has its corporate office in CEAT Mahal in Worli, Mumbai. Its three major activities are manufacturing and marketing of bulk drugs, also known as API, (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), pharmaceutical formulation and fermentation & biotechnology. RPGLS is present in the domestic as well as the international market. It exports its products primarily to Europe, Latin America, Australia & South East Asian countries.^[1]

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History

Earlier known as Searle India Ltd, RPGLS started in 1968 as a joint venture with GD Searle, USA. In 1993, GD Searle withdrew from India and sold its holdings to RPG Group. The company’s name was changed to RPG Life Sciences Ltd effective 1st April 1999. The company was in the business of Pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals. It divested the Agrochemicals business in the year 2001, as per the strategic decision to focus on Pharmaceuticals, Fermentation and Biotechnology.

Business

RPGLS has presence in healthcare, bio-technology, bulk drugs and generic business.

Three major activities of RPGLS are Manufacturing and marketing of bulk drugs (synthetic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) & formulations internationally, pharmaceutical formulations & domestic marketing, and fermentation & biotechnology.
The Healthcare division is divided into the Sertec and Acumed Speciality Divisions. The former manufactures medications for "Critical & Chronic" ailments and the latter for Chronic.The third division Medillion markets generic formulations.A separate laboratory with qualified people in chemical engineering and physical chemistry is provided to develop newer and more efficient formulations.

The Bio Technology business mainly focuses on fermentation products. The fermentation division was set up in 1998 as a new arm of the company to exclusively cater to high-value life saving drugs produced by fermentation route using biotechnology. Within a short span of five years the division has established itself in markets in India and overseas for its APIs and finished dosage forms. Today it exports is product in the markets Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine & Baltic States, Dominican Republic, Peru, S. Korea, China, Argentina.

Operations

Operations of RPGLS is divided mainly into pharmaceutical formulation and Fermentation and Biotechnology.

Pharmaceutical Formulation
This division, which manufacturing unit is located in Ankleshwar in Gujarat, caters to the domestic market for formulations. The company has more than 50 products, which cater to various therapeutic segments: gastroenterology, diabetes, cardiology, psychiatry, anti-infective, antibiotics, oncology, etc. This business area is divided in two segments: ACUMED – catering to the acute illness; and SERTEC – catering to the chronic disease, like diabetes, hypertension, psychiatry, etc.

The primary customers for the above products are doctors, who in turn prescribe the products to patients. RPGLS has a total strength of about 350 medical representatives / field staff, who make the products available to 75,000 doctors out of 5,00,000 doctors all over India. The products are available to customers across the length and breadth of the country and this is achieved through an extensive distribution network comprising about 18 C&F agents, 1200 stockists and 45,000 chemists all over India.

Fermentation and Biotechnology
RPGLS entered into the fermentation business with a selection of novel and unique products. The product list includes Doxorubicin and epirubicin- anticancer products, cyclosporin, a critical product used in organ transplant.

RPGLS is the only company in India manufacturing these products and among the handful of companies’ world wide with the technology to manufacture these life-saving bulk drugs.

Infrastructure and R&D

Infrastructure
RPGLS employs 750 people. It is a multi-location pharmaceutical manufacturing company with 4 locations.

Manufacturing unit at Thane produces Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (also called as Bulk Drugs) and is ISO 9001 certified and has Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia, and approval for 3 of its major products namely Diphenoxylate Hydrochloride, Haloperidol and Propanthelene Bromide.

The Formulation Plant at Ankleshwar GIDC manufactures pharmaceuticals formulations for Domestic as well as for exports and is ISO 9002 and ISO14001 certified. The site also has MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, UK) approved plant for catering to its Global Generic business.

The second Plant at Ankleshwar makes API through Fermentation route to cater to the Biotech Business.

R&D
Process development abilities of the company have generated products that account for almost 70% of the company's turnover. Research & Development at RPG Life Sciences is not just limited to developing and improving medications, in fact, it is the strength of the company.

The chemical R&D, where bulk activities are synthesized, in-housed in a ultra modern building covering about 15,000 sq. ft. area, having state-of-the-art instrumental facilities and is staffed by highly competent scientists many of them trained abroad.

The company also has modern strain management laboratory. The strains used in production of Biopharmaceuticals are continuously worked upon to improve their yields.

Among the many first’s, the company was able to develop several Doxoubicin, Epirubicin, Pantoprazole, Clopidogrel, Resperidone, Sertralene, Lamotrigene and Quinfadie drugs.

The company has international process patens for Resperidone and Lamotrigene manufacturing processes.

The major success of pharmaceutical formulation development was the designing of Novel Microemulsion technology of Cyclosporine. International patent has been granted to the company for this formulation. The clinical trials in India and in other countries have been found very satisfactory. This product is expected to be the growth engine of company in the future. The other sustained and delayed release products have been developed and launched in India.

As a part of global business activities, several patent non-infringing products have been developed, launched/to be launched in regulated markets of Europe.

• Launched : Criprofloxacin Tablets, Azathioprine Tablets
• To launch shortly : Lamotrigine formulation, Sertraline formulation

Products

About 20 bulk drugs, known as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), are produced by RPGLS in Navi Mumbai till date, out of which 17 bulk drugs are through in-house research.

Until the year 1997-98, there was no domestic sale of the bulk drugs by RPGLS. In the year 1998-99, it entered the domestic market, and in the year 2004-05, sales of bulk drugs in the domestic market reached Rs.11 Crores.

RPGLS achieved excellence in some of its business areas. It achieved 80% market share in Pantaprazole sodium bulk drugs, and 50% market share for Clopidogrel Hydrogen Sulphate. It has also achieved excellence in manufacturing and marketing critical life saving drugs for treatment of cancer as well as organ transplants. RPGLS is the only company in India and one of the few companies in the world manufacturing Doxorubicin for treatment of cancer. Doxorubicin, the life saving, anti-cancer agent is a technological breakthrough. It is the first and the only Doxorubicin manufacturing Company in India who is utilizing the complex fermentation technology .The product has been well received both in the domestic and international markets. RPGLS is also the only company in India manufacturing and marketing Cyclosporine, an equally critical organ transplant medicine, using the novel fermentation technology

A comprehensive list of branded formulations offered by RPGLS is available at RPGLS' corporate website.

Overseas presence

RPGLS is represented in more than 30 countries all across the globe, by means of strategic partnership and joint ventures.^[2] It has global partnership for

• Dossiers/DMF in Europe and Canada
• Artificial sugar in UK
• NSAID in Europe
• Formulations in Asia, Canada and Europe.

RPGLS offers services like marketing partnership, NDDS development, development of non-infringing process technologies, and P2P and/or contract manufacturing to its global partners.

See also

• RPG Life Sciences Corporate website
• Profile of RPG Life Sciences on RPG Enterprises Corporate website
• RPG Life Sciences in media

References