CPHL Citi Pharma Cephalosporin plant expected to commence operations by May this year
According to Mr Rizwan Ahmed, CEO of CPHL Citi Pharma (CPHL), the Company’s Cephalosporin plant has also been completed and got the leading pharmaceutical manufacturing contract, which is expected to commence operations in May this year. By the end of this year, the Company is expected to complete overall formulations projects.
He was sharing Company’s profile and plans during a Pakistan Mid Cap Conference 2022, organized by Topline Securities, recently.
The Company is enjoying the privilege of being the only Company in Pakistan that has all three licenses to produce, (i) basic APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredient), (ii) semi-basic APIs and (iii) Formulations.
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In Pakistan, the top 5 selling medicines include Augmentin, Omeprazole, Panadol, Brufen and Novidat. Among them, four medicines (excluding Omeprazole) are included in Citi Pharma’s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) portfolio.
Under API segment, the revenue from Amoxicillin, Cefixime and Ciprofloxacin are expected to follow the trend as witnessed by Paracetamol. Furthermore, the introduction of new APIs (Ascorbic Acid, Chloroquine Phosphate, and Hydroxy Chloroquine Sulfate) along with existing APIs will help grow CPHL’s revenue at a 5-year CAGR (FY21-25) of 32%.
Under the Formulation segment, the Company’scompany current portfolio includes 17 products which are expected to add additional 40-50 products in the next 2-3 years as expanding in formulation creates natural synergies for CPHL. In addition, the Company also plans to add vials coupled with offering branded manufacturing for local pharma.
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In addition, the planned expansion of the formulation segment coupled with dedicated facilities for (i) Penicillin and (ii) Cephalosporin will add new revenue streams in the CPHL’s topline.
The Company’s Cephalosporin plant has also been completed and got the manufacturing contract of the leading pharmaceutical which is expected to commence operations by May this year. By the end of this year, the Company is expected to complete overall formulations projects.
The Company is also planning to provide a toll manufacturing facility to leading pharmaceutical producers, which will be an added advantage as CPHL in the North will save ~50% transportation cost for Southern Pharma players and thus provides a one-stop solution. On this, the Company is expecting gross margins between 20%- 25%.
The Company intends to develop three dedicated units for Capsules, Tablets and Vials with the capacity of 4.5mn tablets, 4.2mn capsules/day and 200,000 vials/day, respectively. Also, the Company is also willing to engage in vertical integration by setting up state-of-the-art 200 beds hospital facilities at Lahore.
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Despite the announcement of an increase in Paracetamol price, it has not been implemented in the market till yet. Still, the Panadol tablet is available at Rs1.7 per tablet.
Due to an order from a leading multinational company, the Company recently developed a plan to work on its Nutraceutical plant. The grey work of the plant is expected to complete by March-22 end, which will be followed by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) visit in May-22 and its approvals later on.
The Company’s manufacturing facility spans over of 46.2 acres (largest pharma production facility in Pakistan) of freehold land with more than 527,384 Sq. feet of covered area that allows the Company to expand further in both API and formulation segments and provide one-stop solution to the pharma industry.
To note, the geographic advantage of CPHL makes it also the most effective pharmaceutical facility in Pakistan in terms of supply-chain.
