In an endeavour to make India a global leader in the pharma sphere, Schott Kaisha, the manufacturer of glass pharma packaging products is setting up yet another manufacturing facility in the country, it’s first in Himachal Pradesh. The Indo- German joint venture had recently signed an MoU with the Himachal Pradesh government for setting up its most advanced facility, in order to especially cater to the demands of the growing northern market.
During the domestic roadshow under the ‘Rising Himachal Global Investors Meet’ in Chandigarh, the MoU was signed between Schott Kaisha and Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur. Himachal Pradesh is ranked third among global pharmaceutical hubs, manufacturing over 150 bulk drugs and exporting to over 200 countries. Schott Kaisha recognising the state’s contribution to pharma sector, plans to invest over Rs 50 crores on the plant to set up production capacity of 360 million ampoules and 70 million vials. The plant is expected to be operational by April next year.
Medicine spending in India is projected to grow nine to12 per cent over the next five years, enabling it to become one of the top 10 countries in terms of medicine spending. Schott Kaisha, with its existing plants in Daman and Gujarat, is a preferred partner for most of the leading pharmaceutical companies in India, due to its ‘best quality for users all over the world’ ethos.
The new plant in Baddi would further add to the company’s overall production capacity of three billion pieces of primary pharmaceutical packaging products. The plant would also lead to job creation in the industrial area as Schott Kaisha plans to employ around 100 people within the first few months.
Discussing about his current investment in the state, Rishad Dadachanji, Director, Schott Kaisha, siad, “Pharmaceutical packaging is a growth area in India, and Baddi is home to many pharmaceutical companies, including some of our key clients. In fact, the state meets 35 per cent of demand for pharma products in Asia. In the past few years, Himachal Pradesh has done exceptionally well in attracting investments to build a concrete industrial base for the pharma sector. Being a pioneer in the field of pharmaceutical glass packaging, Schott Kaisha looks forward to set up its gold standard manufacturing processes in the region and strengthen the state’s efforts by not only setting up a plant, but also by producing products which meet the global standards.”
The move comes at a time when domestic market is increasingly facing a threat posed by low-quality pharma packaging products.