Lee Pharma foraying into biosimilars, peptide mkt

Visakhapatnam: Lee Pharma set to expand its footprint in the market by entering into biosimilars, peptide molecules and niche APIs in next five years as part of its long-term strategy.

The company, which was established in 1997, has two units in Hyderabad and another two in Visakhapatnam-one at Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) and another at Atchutapuram. The company has a total permanent workforce of 2,000 in four locations.

Company's Director Leela Rani told Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interview on the side lines of BBBC event, organised by The Hans India and Bizz Buzz, here on Saturday that they transformed into a Rs600 crore pharma firm in 2021-22 from Rs400 crore the previous year. A second generation entrepreneur after completing masters at BITS-Pilani, Leela Rani joined the family business and is now focusing Lee Health to develop nutraceutical products. Focus of the company has remained on R&D and innovation since inception, she stated.

Declaring that Lee Pharma is a research-driven company, they are laying thrust on development and commercialising products in a cost-effective manner, she said their focus is on development, synthesis and commercialization of new products and cost effective processes by following stipulations recommended by USFDA, EUGMP, WHO and other regulatory bodies. The company is into intermediate chemicals, API and semi-finished dosage forms like pellets and granules and formulations.

She said they have consolidated their position through production innovation and timely intervention winning several awards at various levels by deploying 150 employees exclusively for R&D.

To improve the growth of pharmaceutical sector, she opined that the government should adopt a long-term plan to address problems with regard to availability of land for expansion, greenfield projects, ensuring uninterrupted power supply and common facilities for effluent treatment.