Mysuru unit expansion
Solara Active Pharma Sciences, an Active Pharma Ingredients making company, is expanding its active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing unit capacity from 448 tonnes per annum (TPA) to 2,000 TPA at Nanjangud in the Mysuru district of Karnataka. The expansion will create additional employment for 260 persons.
Work on the project is expected to commence by early 2023 and the company is expecting to complete the project within a year.
Solara Active Pharma Sciences (SAPS) – Brief introduction
SAPS is a Chennai-based pharma manufacturing company specializing in the manufacture of APIs suiting the needs of pharmaceuticals – drug-making companies. They currently make 65-plus API compounds at 4 manufacturing locations and Mysuru being one of them.
Research & Development (R&D) center
Custom-made API involves a lot of R&D work using state-of-the-art equipment and apparatus. With more than 140 research scientists doing high-tech work, the 2 R&D centers of SAPS look to be ambitious reflecting the promotors’ aspirations to make SAPS a truly world-class company.
API – a sunrise sector
The Indian Pharmaceutical industry is the 3rd largest in the world by volume. India is one of the major producers of Active Pharma Ingredients (API) or bulk drugs in the world. India exported Bulk Drugs/Drug Intermediates worth Rs. 33,320 crores in the financial year 2021-22. However, the country also imports various Bulk Drugs/APIs for producing medicines from various countries, and most of the imports of the Bulk Drugs/APIs being done in the country are because of economic considerations. India imported Rs. 35,249 crores worth of APIs and Bulk drugs in 2021-22. This has to reverse.
PLI scheme, the true enabler of local manufacturing
However to encourage local production the Government of India has come out with attractive PLI schemes giving incentives such as tax breaks, stamp duty waivers, etc, and cash handouts. Companies have started lining up investments to avail the PLI benefits and SAPS’ move to expand the Mysuru unit is a step in that direction.