Marksans Pharma of India is to focus on formulations and away from API manufacturing, in what will be a major change of strategy. The company now plans to sell or lease its two API manufacturing plants at Kurkumbh near Pune for about €87 million. This is part of a restructuring initiative announced in October 2009.

The two sites, which are benchmarked to cGMP standards and are expecting FDA inspections shortly, make about 180 compounds for over 50 export markets. Through them, Marksans is India’s second largest producer of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, as well as a major producer of the anti-microbial enrofloxacin and ranitidine, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist for ulcer treatment,

Earlier, the company said that it had “an aggressive roadmap to drive growth two-fold”, planning to launch 15 new molecules in existing and new therapies and set up a service platform for the whole drug discovery and development value chain. It also planned to upgrade its analytical laboratory and pilot plant facilities to offer chemical synthesis and process development-related research services to global pharmaceutical companies

In September 2008, Marksans had acquired Relonchem and Bell’s & Sons, a UK-based supplier of OTC generic drugs for €15.4 million in order to expand its distribution network and its presence in Europe. Since then, the manufacture of some of Relonchem’s 36 generics has transferred to Pune and other Marksans sites in India.

At the time, Marksans said that its CRAMS capabilities should enable it to compress the development process and give it more flexibility to compete in the rapidly changing European generic drugs market. Managing director Mark Saldanha added that the firm hoped to generate 60% of its revenues overseas within a few years and was seeking acquisitions in the US.

Saldanha also said that he saw “tremendous potential” in being fully integrated into APIs and formulations. In retrospect, the acquisition, which took place just before the crash of late 2008, may have been overpriced, forcing Marksans to choose which of the two options is the more lucrative for it.