From a debt-ridden company to making a turnaround and now raking in profits, Orchid Pharma is a story worth emulating.
Taken over by the Dhanuka Group in March 2020, Orchid Pharma reported a 36% surge in total revenue from operations while the EBITDA jumped by 104% over the quarter ending September 2021, according to the 2022 Q2 results posted in Medical Dialogues. Comprehensive loss for FY22 stood at Rs 0.53 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 115.87 crore in the previous year, Business Standard reported.
Orchid Pharma is focusing majorly on a molecule developed in-house – Enmetazobactam, a BLI (Beta-lactamase Inhibitor) used in combination with beta-lactam antibiotic cefepime, Business Standard reported, quoting Manish Dhanuka, managing director of the Chennai-based Orchid Pharma.
An injectable product, it is highly effective in treating complicated urinary tract infections, and completed global clinical trials, Dhanuka told the newspaper.
India’s market for anti-infectives – medicines to prevent or treat infections – was roughly worth Rs 22,011 crore as of October 2022, according to AIOCD-AWACS, a pharmaceutical market research organization.
According to Dhanuka, the molecule was developed in a Rs 100-crore R&D (facility) over seven years. He said enmetazobactam is one of the first invented-in-India anti-infective molecules to have completed phase-3 trials and is in the New Drug Application phase.
European company Allecra Therapeutics has the license to sell the product worldwide. Orchid Pharma, which retains the rights for the Indian market, is entitled to a 6 to 8 percent royalty on worldwide sales of the product. It will commercialize the product in India after necessary trials on the Indian population.
Speaking on the Q2 results, Dhanuka told Medical Dialogues, “Our revenues have seen a sharp uptick over the last year. We have focused on increasing capacity utilization while controlling costs. Owing to all the measures we took, bearing fruit, and a strong product pipeline, the results are a sign of positive things to come.”
