Private companies to process opium in India to produce codeine

Codeine is one of the most sought opium products by the Indian pharmaceutical industry, to make cough syrups. And, despite having some of the largest opium fields in the world, India annually imports about 30 tonnes of codeine.

Last year, the government decided to allow private pharma companies to process opium and manufacture opium-based drugs. Two of the country's leading pharma companies, Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's and Mumbai-based Piramal Healthcare (formerly Nicholas Piramal) were given permission to process opium to produce substances to be used in drugs.  This move comes after six-decade as a result of change in govt. policy. Currently, the Government Opium and Alkaloids Factory (GOAF), an arm of the Ministry of Finance, department of revenue, manufactures and sells opium and its alkaloids. There are two manufacturing units located at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and at Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh.

Now it seems, Piramal Healthcare will be the first to process opium and is set to  process by 2010. It has tied up with a US company for technology and is setting up a plant in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh with an investment of Rs. 700 million to Rs.1000 million. Major export market for processed opium is US and Japan.

Bharat Biotech launches new COMVAC5, a single shot pentavalent vaccine

 Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a Hyderabad based company that manufactures vaccines launched COMVAC5, a single shot vaccine which offers protection against haemophilus influenza, meningitis etc and contains tetanus, Hepatitis B, Hib, Pertusis, Diptheria. It is the first of kind of Hib vaccine manufactured indigenously without using cesium chloride.

 

 

Zydus Cadila gets AAALAC certification

Zydus Cadila ( Cadila Healthcare Ltd) has received full accreditation from AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International. AAALAC is an international body of experts which monitors animals used in lab tests and research programmes. Cadila has received this accreditation after a complete on-site evaluation of care of animals, facilities by experts.

 

 

India Glycols to expand Super Critical Fluid Extraction (SCFE) Unit at Selaqui

India Glycols to expand Super Critical Fluid Extraction (SCFE) Unit  at Selaqui in Dehradun in Uttaranchal. The project involves expanding natural health production unit from 150 to 1050 kg/day with an investment of Rs. 40 million. Herbal raw materials like Ginger, Turmeric, Chilly, Stevia, Rosemary, Pyrethrum and Chemomomile etc. will be used to manufacture natural products.  More than 50 products will be manufactured.  Super Critical Fluid (i.e. CO₂) Extraction Technology; Aqueous and Aqueous Alcoholic Recycling Batch Extraction Process; Aqueous Open Vessels Live Steam Heated Extraction Process and Semi-Mechanized Steam Distillation Process will be used for the production of natural health products.