Merck expects strong growth from India
Merck, the 350-year-old German pharmaceutical and chemical-maker, is increasing its investments and introducing products and solutions to support biosimilar manufacturing in India, Udit Batra, executive board member, said on Thursday.
“We expect strong growth from India are are ready to introduce bioproduction technology in the country. We have done that in other countries,” said Batra, who heads the firm’s life science division. While Merck plans to introduce anti-cancer drugs in India, the growth driver will come from sales of products and services in biosimilar manufacturing, Batra said.
Domestic drug-makers are increasing their focus on biosimilars to tap $90 billion market in Europe and the US over the next five years. Biosimilars are copies of biological drugs, which are made from living cells.
Merck has announced an investment of ^16 million (~1.2 billion) to develop a chemical manufacturing plant and a distribution centre near Mumbai. The new facility, to be spread over 12,000 sqm, will come up in 2019.
Merck, which clocked global sales of ^15 billion in 2016, has built its business through a string of acquisitions in the past decade. In India, Merck is in the business for around five decades.
It sells pharma and consumer health products through a listed entity, while its other businesses are held with privately-held subsidiaries. In 2017, Merck generated a total revenue of ~11.43 billion and a net profit of ~9.3 billion.
The life science division, which manufactures laboratory materials and chemicals, is the company’s largest segment in India. Globally, the segment contributes around 35 per cent to the company’s global sales.
Batra did not share the company’s sales figures of the India specific segment.