ALAPPUZHA: The Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceutical (KSDP), the only drug manufacturing company under the state government, initiates steps to export lifesaving drugs to the world market. A team from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reached the company as part of the evaluation of facilities for the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification.
The company has been getting a large number of enquiries regarding the export of lifesaving drugs, said KSDP managing director S Syamala. “We expect to get the GMP certification by next year. After the certification, the KSDP will be the only drug manufacturing company from the public sector to get an approval from WHO.”
She said KSDP is undergoing modernisation to enhance its capacity and quality. “Currently, the company is supplying medicines to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states,” Syamala said. “The central government’s Jan Aushadhi has also placed orders for medicines. The company also has an NABH-accredited laboratory to check the quality of medicines. Many states have been depending on this facility. Jan Aushadhi has also approved the company’s facility.”
According to company’s chairman C B Chandrababu, the state government has taken much interest in the development of the company. Development projects worth more than `32 crore, including Non-betalactam plant and injection plant, have been progressing.
The company has also started steps to develop medicines for cancer. “A separate wing will be needed for the research and development of cancer medicines but it is expensive,” the chairman said. “However, the state government is keen on producing quality medicine at low cost. The research on the project will begin by the end of next year with the support of the Regional Cancer Centre and other premier cancer institutes.”
The state government has approved `70 crore for the new injection plant. Currently, the company produces around 50 varieties of medicines, including capsules, tablets, liquid and powder. They have been mainly supplying the medicines to the Kerala State Medical Service Corporation Limited (KSMSCL). The tablet section in the company alone has a capacity to produce around 40 lakh tables on a three-shift operation, including betalactam, non-betalactam and gelatin capsules, ORS powder, syrup and mixtures. “The company has already received an order of Rs 40 crore for this fiscal,” Chandrababu said. “However, we are expecting more orders from other states and the target is `50 crore.”