The Hindu Business Line : GSK Pharma to bring in rotavirus, cancer vaccines

Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman, GlaxoSmithKline, flanked by Mr M.B. Kapadia (left), Director, Finance Legal & Corporate Affairs; and Dr H. B. Joshipura, Managing Director, at the company’s AGM in Mumbai on Monday. —

Our Bureau

Mumbai, April 21 A vaccine that prevents hospitalisation and death following rotavirus diarrhoea (Rotarix) and another that protects women against cervical cancer (Cervarix) — there are two of the vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals slated to come into the country this year.

This year, three or four vaccines are set to be brought into the country, GSK Pharma’s Managing Director in India, Dr Hasit Joshipura, told shareholders here on Monday. Rotarix is slated for June, he told Business Line. Cervarix is scheduled for later this year or early next year, he told shareholders. Two other innovative DTP vaccines, Boostrix and Infanrix, have already been launched.

Vaccines are an estimated Rs 120-crore business for the multinational drug company. All vaccines are imported, he said, adding that in some cases the bulk is imported from Belgium and the vaccine formulated at its plant in Nashik.

Also on the anvil is GSK Pharma’s breast cancer drug Tykerb, slated for launch locally, next month. About 30 per cent of the company’s sales come under price control, covering about 15 brands, he said. However, the rest of the business would see growth on par with the industry, at about nine per cent, he added.

Meanwhile, GSK Pharma’s Chairman, Mr Deepak Parekh, told shareholders that the sub-prime crisis in the US would not have an impact on the pharmaceutical company’s business.

The company also did not have any exposure to foreign exchange derivatives and commodity derivatives, he said.

The reduction of excise duty to 8 per cent in the Union Budget, though, would result in GSK Pharma’s gross sales coming down about Rs 50 crore, he said, adding , that this would not affect the company’s net sales or profits.

He clarified that the company does not pay royalties to the parent company, but had to pay Rs 46 lakh as royalty to Swiss firm Roche with whom it has a licensing deal to sell cardiac drug carvedilol in India. GSK Pharma expects to clock sales of Rs 5 crore on the drug in its first year.

The company has no more businesses to sell, he said, referring to the exit from the fine chemicals and animal health businesses. About half of GSK Pharma’s manufacturing is out-sourced, he added.

Q1 results

GSK Pharma had posted a net profit of Rs 121.27 crore for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008. The company had clocked Rs 111.32 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. Total income is Rs 452.21 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 (Rs 441.46 crore).

The growth in net sales (excluding the Fine Chemicals business) was 5.3 per cent during the quarter ended March 31, 2008. This performance must be viewed in the context of pipeline inventory adjustments in March 2008 on account of excise-related price changes, the company told BSE. The figures for the current period are not comparable with those of the previous period, in view of the sale of the Fine Chemicals business on September 30, 2007, it added. GSK shares were up 1.53 per cent on the BSE at Rs 1,020.25