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AKCDA floats ‘Kaino Pharm’ to foray into drug manufacturing; plans to launch 10 products on Nov 1
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
October 12 , 2020
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On the lines of ‘Make in India’ campaign initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote Indian made products from key sectors including pharmaceuticals, the Kerala based drug traders’ body, the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) is coming with a new project with the slogan, ‘Make in Kerala for Local Markets’, an initiative to foray into drug manufacturing segment.
To realize the project, AKCDA has floated a new venture, Kaino Pharm Limited, a manufacturing and marketing unit, and tied up with a local drug maker in Thrissur, Southern Union Pharmaceuticals (Kerala) Private Limited, for contract manufacturing. The company’s own manufacturing plant will be ready for commissioning in 2023 at its five acres land at Ernakulum.
However, Kaino Pharm wants to launch its first 10 products on November 1, the day marking the birth of Kerala or otherwise called Kerala Day.
From January 2021, all the medicinal requirements to the 12,000 medical shops of AKCDA will be supplied by Kaino Pharm who will act as manufacturer, marketer and distributor. The member chemists will not depend on any other company’s products to sell in their medical shops. Simultaneously, Kaino Pharm will also take part in government tenders.
The president of the AKCDA, AN Mohan, has been made the chairman and managing director (CMD) of the company. Experts from industry, academia and regulatory areas have been included in the director board. Kaino Pharm’s slogan is ‘lower prices, higher qualities,’ said one board member.
In the beginning, the range of products will include a few OTC drugs and generic versions of almost all the commonly used medicines.
The company wants to build a brand identity for their products. The generic formulations are given separate brand names to establish their identity. Paracetamol 650 will be brought into the market in the name ‘Kainopar 650’ and omeprazole, the drug used to treat certain stomach problems will be branded as ‘Kainaze’.
Hand-sanitizer, which has now become one of the sought-after products, will be manufactured and marketed under the brand name ‘Sanitaz’. Licence is awaited for an antiseptic lotion to be manufactured and marketed in place of Dettol.
Briefing Pharmabiz about the new venture, AN Mohan said the members of the association are the promoters of the manufacturing company. There will be no compromise on the part of quality although pricing is less compared to the MRPs of presently available generic drugs.
“Kerala has a revenue receipt of Rs.12,000 crore from pharmaceutical trade sector every year, but out of this even products worth 100 corore are not being manufactured in the state. All the medicines are brought from other states, especially from north India. AKCDA wants to make the state self-sufficient in the total requirement of medicines through local manufacturing. As far as Kerala is concerned, the state has no industry atmosphere, but we have plenty of infrastructure and human resources. AKCDA wants to utilize them for the medical requirement of the state,” said Mohan.
AKCDA runs two pharmacy colleges under its sister-concern, Chemists and Druggists Education Society. According to the academic community, the industry project will help the students of pharmacies in the state for full-fledged training through an industry-academia tie-up.
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