18 Feb 2008

Mumbai-based Concept Pharmaceuticals, promoted by one of the founders of pharma major Lupin, plans to go public by the last quarter of this year.

A 23-year–old pharmaceutical, veterinary and bulk drugs manufacturer, Concept has expansion plans to enter the regulated markets of the US and Europe by launching high potential niche life-saving drugs in two years.

The company is setting up a Rs 35-crore plant at Roorkie in Uttaranchal with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards.

It is also planning another plant for bulk drugs in Uttranchal with an investment of Rs 40 crore, said A B Gupta, CMDof Concept Pharmaceuticals.

“The current market situation is not suitable for an IPO and we may file the red herring prospectus after March,” he said.

AB Gupta is one of the founders of Lupin and brother of DB Gupta, chairman of Lupin.

He said the Rs 150 crore Concept has four manufacturing plants in Aurangabad and a formulation plant in Nepal. Its subsidiary in Nepal, Concept Pharmaceuticals Nepal, caters to that local market.

Other expansions plans include setting up a large pharmaceutical division and launching over the counter products, Gupta added.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Dehradun, 13 Feb 2008

With barely a fortnight left for the announcement of the Railway budget, people here are not only waiting for the arrival of trains in the hill regions like other Himalayan states but are also looking forward to better rail connectivity with other states.

The visits of railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad to Uttarakhand many a time in the past and his promise of better rail links have raised the hope of the people of this hill state.

A few months ago, the minister admitted the need to have the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag and Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail links as part of the national plan. It is believed that there could be some announcement in this regard in the rail budget. Past surveys have recommended the rail link on the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag route. The first survey was done in 1919 on the initiatives of the then deputy commissioner of Garhwal JM Clay. The next survey was done in 1996, by the then minister of state for Railways Mr Satpal Maharaj. But the rail link on the hills here remained a dream.

Experts find no impediments to the construction of rail routes here. Dr PC Nawani, director of the Geological Survey of India, who is a consultant to the Rail line Plan in Jammu and Kashmir, says the hills of Uttarakhand are fit for the rail links. “The situation here is more favourable compared to Jammu and Kashmir as the rocks here are harder,” Dr Nawani said.

“It is perhaps due to the lack of political will that the hills of Uttarakhand are still without trains,” Mr Naveen Gupta, a trader said. He reasoned: “If there can be trains in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Darjeeling, why not in Uttarakhand?”

The people also long for the Doon-Saharanpur rail line, a double rail line from Doon-Luxar and its electrification, a fast train to Mumbai and direct trains to other parts of the country, particularly Bangalore and Goa.

With the growing number of tourists, it is essential to have better rail connectivity, Mr LM Sharma, an insurance company manager said. According to him, the Doon-Saharanpur line would help frequent travellers as it would shorten by two hours the distance from Dehradun to Delhi. It would be about 30-35 km, railway officials said.

News Source: http://www.thestatesman.net