Matrix Laboratories Limited, the city-based Rs 500-crore bulk actives (APIs) player, today announced that it was setting up two 50:50 joint venture companies, one in India and the other in Ireland, with a total capital outlay of 3.90 million Euros ( Rs 21 crore). They would be set up in association with two German companies.

The joint venture companies will be engaged in the business of development of finished dosage forms and formulation dossiers, obtaining marketing authorisations, and marketing these dossiers/marketing authorisations to generic pharma companies in Europe.

While the JV that is being set up in India is named Medikon Galenicals Private Limited, the other JV to be based in Ireland will be called CEM Pharma Life Sciences Limited.

The investment partners in these two joint venture companies are H Fischer & Co International GmbH and CES Beteiligungs GmbH. Both the companies are part of a $ 300 million German pharmaceutical player with a focus on generics.

The Indian JV proposes to set up a development centre in Hyderabad to develop finished dosage forms and dossiers.

łThis initiative is not to compete with generic players in European markets. We will be complementing the generic players while simultaneously moving up the value chain,˛said N Prasad, the chairman and chief executive officer of Matrix.

łAs of now, we are into manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The new initiative is a step in the right direction with a lot of synergies. To start with, the Indian JV focuses on development of formulation products. Manufacturing will take sometime and additional investment will be needed for that,˛ he added.

It may be recalled that about 35 per cent of the company's turnover in the current year is coming from European markets.

While it has already been exporting Citalopram bulk active, and has European Certificate of Suitability (CoS) for Acyclovir and Cetrizine, it is in the process of filing CoS for Alprazolam (CNS segment), Itraconazole (anti-fungal) and Clarithromycin (anti-bacterial).

Grant of CoS will enable the company to market these products in European countries.

Matrix has been exporting Citalopram, the anti-depressant bulk active, to 20-odd generic formulators through the Germany-based AET, the original marketing authorisation holder of generic formulations containing Citalopram.