Shasun Pharmaceuticals expects to start operating Vizag plant from June

Mr S Abhaya Kumar , MD, Shasun Pharmaceuticals.

                 Chennai-based Shasun Pharmaceuticals expects to start commercial production at its proposed plant in Vishakapatnam by June 2012.

         The plant has been long in the making and “the delay was because we were trying to consolidate operations at our plants in Puducherry and Cuddalore,” said Mr Abhaya Kumar, Managing Director, Shasun. Last year, Shasun's Puducherry plant witnessed a strike, while the Cuddalore plant faced closure for some time due to chemical leak.

Plant plan

          Shasun had in 2009 announced that it would set up the Vishakapatnam plant. The total outlay on the unit , located in an export-oriented special economic zone , is around Rs 100 crore. The Vizag plant will have an initial production capacity of 1,200 tonnes of bulk drugs a year . It will manufacture generic APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients), particularly for the Japanese market. “The Japanese market is opening up in a big way. It is also the third-largest pharma consuming market globally,” said Mr Kumar. Shasun has outlined capital expenditure of Rs 100 crore over the next two years. Around $6 million was raised through external commercial borrowings. The company also recently issued warrants worth Rs 15 crore.

Bar-coding

           With the government directing drugs exporters to ensure bar-coding on external packaging within a week , Shasun said it was ready with the necessary technology. The company has engaged a firm to help train its people in bar coding and its usage.  Barcoding on packs will be carried out at Shasun's Puducherry facility. “Production costs will go up by a small percentage but capital costs are high – ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. It can be a pain for small companies,” said Mr Kumar. The Shasun share fell 1.40 per cent on Monday to close at Rs 67 on the BSE.

Read more »

Cuddalore Shasun Pharma Thrust Invests on Nanotech Project for Cancer Treatment

           Shasun Pharma will be involved in a nanotechnology-based project for curing cancer in a joint venture with US-based Nanoparticle Biochem along with University of Missouri’s support. The company will invest $2 million in the nanotechnology-based project in the next two years, apart from its previous investment of $300,000. In addition, Nanoparticle Biochem is planning to introduce a gel-like product using nano-fibers for healing wounds.

           S. Abhaya Kumar, Managing Director of Shasun Pharma, stated that on injecting radioactive gold nanoparticles into solid tumor, the tumor cell can be destroyed in 30 days without the requirement of external radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The clinical trials will be performed on pigs and dogs during the month of August. Shasun Pharma will hold complete rights on this newly developed product. The company chiefly produces APIs for large number of pharmaceutical firms world-wide. Recently, it has stepped into the branded pharmaceutical market in Tamil Nadu, India, by introducing a blood-thinning drug and a product for diabetes. It is further planning to introduce an over-the-counter (OTC) pain ointment and products for cholesterol control and renal failure. 

 

           The company has manufacturing plants in Cuddalore and Puducherry and also plans to establish a production facility in Vizag. Its chief business of a drug called ibuprofen will include more derivatives by 2011. 

Source:

 

http://www.shasun.com/news_media.html

Read more »

Acid leak: villagers can return home, says official

CUDDALORE: 

             The environs of the Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd, located on the premises of the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here, have been cleared of toxic fumes.

           Hence, the villagers can return home and resume their regular chores, according to V.Thangaraj, Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories. Joint Director (Health) Kamalakannan told The Hindu that of the 155 people admitted in the Cuddalore Headquarters Hospitals on the complaints of burning eyes, breathing problem and itching of the skin caused by the dense fumes emanating from an acid-leak in the unit on the night of March 7, only nine were still undergoing treatment. With the help of modern gadgets, the concentration of fumes that remained at 58—60 mg per metric cube soon after the leak, was nullified within 12 hours.

Read more »

Acid leak purely an accident, says TNPCB

CUDDALORE: 

        Top officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board have said that the acid leak that created lot of fumes in the unit run by the Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd in the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here on Monday night was an accident and it was not posing any life threatening situation.

         Additional Chief Environmental Engineer of the TNPCB (Chennai) S.Balaji told The Hindu that soon after information about the incident he went to the unit for spot inspection. He found that the bottles containing bromine stored in saw dust filled wooden boxes spilled due to mishandling and it reacted with the hydrochloric acid kept nearby. This had created dense fumes that spread over the nearby places.

         It was his immediate endeavour to control the fumes for which certain speedy measures were taken. To contain the fumes slaked lime was sprinkled over the chemicals and now the situation was well under control. Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (forensic wing of the TNPCB) R.Dhanasekaran said that it was a pure accident as the broken bottles containing bromine might have triggered the fumes. Now the fumes were brought under control and also the pungent odour.

        For every chemical spillage appropriate measures ought to be taken as stipulated and this was being done in a careful manner in this case. He underscored the point that public safety was well assured and there was no need for panic. Mr. Balaji further said that with the staff of the company the chemical substances were being removed in a safe manner. In this context, he said that awareness should be created among the local residents about the hazards of living close to chemical units.

        Conducting mock drills frequently on how to tackle such exigencies would keep the local community well informed, Mr Balaji said. When asked how long the unit should remain closed, Mr Balaji said that he would visit the company after some time to evaluate the situation and take a decision.

Read more »

Acid leak in the Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd: CPI calls for insurance scheme to local residents

CUDDALORE: 

          Deriving a lesson from the acid-leak-induced fumes in the Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd. on the SIPCOT Industrial Estate near here that harmed several local residents on Monday night, the authorities should take appropriate safety measures, according to M. Sekar, in-charge district secretary of the Communist Party of India.

          In a statement released here today, Mr. Sekar stated that it was ironical that though mock drills on disaster management measures were conducted on the industrial estate last year, with a view to improve the reaction time to exigencies, the official machinery took about three hours to bring a semblance of control in the unit. Mr. Sekar observed that due to mishandling of the bottles containing bromine, the acid leaked, spewing out dense fumes.

        Moreover, the official machinery did not seem to have the right technology to deal with such chemical hazards. The CPI leader appealed to the District Collector P. Seetharaman to launch the People's Liability Insurance Scheme, as was in vogue in certain States, so as to provide adequate relief to the affected people. He also called for stringent action against the unit whose alleged lapses in the handling of chemicals had caused a life threatening situation. General Secretary of the Consumer Federation-Tamil Nadu M. Nizamudeen also called for the implementation of the liability insurance scheme, besides taking appropriate safety measures. Quoting the local residents he said that the alarm meant for alerting the people during emergency was not sounded, and the officials took a long time to react.

            As in the case of the Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd. that kept the idle storage of bromine, there were also stocks of chemical wastes on the campuses of other units in the industrial estate. These uncleared stocks would pose imminent threat to the safety and security of the people. Mr. Nizamudeen pointed out that there were occasions when the chemical wastes were transported and dumped near habitations in an unscientific manner. He called upon the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board officials to keep a tab on the unused and unnecessary stocks of chemicals in the industrial estate and make arrangement for their safe clearance.

Read more »

50 persons arrested

CUDDALORE: 

              Fifty activists, including 14 women, of the Human Rights Trade Union were arrested and remanded to judicial custody when they staged protest before Shasun Chemicals Ltd. here on Tuesday. Police said that they were demanding reinstatement of four employees who were dismissed by the company about two-and-half years ago. The arrests were made as they defied police instructions not to assemble there, sources said.

Read more »