Hester Pharma's business by animal instinct
Hester Pharma makes vaccines for poultry that could prevent bird flu and other diseases.
By Tapash Talukdar, TNN |
A year ago when the threat of Bird Flu gripped India, a little-known company Hester Pharma Ltd came up with the remedies. Even as the government was grappling with the menace, Hester launched poultry vaccines at a price as low as Rs 2 a dose. There were no compliments coming from the authorities but the company, which is listed on the BSE, promptly got a thumbs up from investors as the stock took wings.
In the world’s pharma lab that is India, this Ahmedabad-based firm stands out for its distinct focus on the research and production of animal vaccines. “We have the largest number of vaccine licenses registered by any Indian company,” says Rajiv Gandhi, chief executive and managing director of Hester. What’s more, Hester is ramping up capacities keeping in mind that in the future there could be a huge de-mand for animal vaccines needed to protect human lives, be it for Mad Cow disease or Bird Flu.
“The idea is simple. For instance the Bird Flu problem, if tackled at the poultry level itself, could eliminate the risk of human beings being affected by it. Immunising the chickens in India could be one of the safest ways to contain this disease,” Gandhi explains.
The opportunities are immense. According to estimates, the Rs 150-crore poultry industry in India is growing at more than 10% year-on-year, while a quarter of the produce every year is imported. Hester currently enjoys a tenth of the market. “We want to capture a fifth of the market next year,” Gandhi says.
The company’s focussed approach in the business is already yielding results. In the half-year ended September 2007, Hester reported a top-line of Rs 17.33 crore as compared to Rs 10.55 crore for the previous corresponding period - a growth of 64%. Net profit grew from Rs 2.57 crore to Rs. 4.28 crore. In the year-ended March 2007, Hester had posted net profits of Rs 5.15 crore on sales of Rs 21.83 crore.
The expanded capacity (increasing from 1.2 billion doses to 4.8 billion doses), which went onstream in March 2007, will show its effect in the current financial year, with a projected turnover of Rs 34 crore. Hester will commence production for additional vaccines under vari-ous international licencing agreements. It foresees a sizable growth in its sales of poultry vaccines too in the current financial year.
In the world’s pharma lab that is India, this Ahmedabad-based firm stands out for its distinct focus on the research and production of animal vaccines. “We have the largest number of vaccine licenses registered by any Indian company,” says Rajiv Gandhi, chief executive and managing director of Hester. What’s more, Hester is ramping up capacities keeping in mind that in the future there could be a huge de-mand for animal vaccines needed to protect human lives, be it for Mad Cow disease or Bird Flu.
“The idea is simple. For instance the Bird Flu problem, if tackled at the poultry level itself, could eliminate the risk of human beings being affected by it. Immunising the chickens in India could be one of the safest ways to contain this disease,” Gandhi explains.
The opportunities are immense. According to estimates, the Rs 150-crore poultry industry in India is growing at more than 10% year-on-year, while a quarter of the produce every year is imported. Hester currently enjoys a tenth of the market. “We want to capture a fifth of the market next year,” Gandhi says.
The company’s focussed approach in the business is already yielding results. In the half-year ended September 2007, Hester reported a top-line of Rs 17.33 crore as compared to Rs 10.55 crore for the previous corresponding period - a growth of 64%. Net profit grew from Rs 2.57 crore to Rs. 4.28 crore. In the year-ended March 2007, Hester had posted net profits of Rs 5.15 crore on sales of Rs 21.83 crore.
The expanded capacity (increasing from 1.2 billion doses to 4.8 billion doses), which went onstream in March 2007, will show its effect in the current financial year, with a projected turnover of Rs 34 crore. Hester will commence production for additional vaccines under vari-ous international licencing agreements. It foresees a sizable growth in its sales of poultry vaccines too in the current financial year.
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The company is now setting up a government approved R&D centre for poultry disease surveillance in India. The centre will also engage in the development of additional poultry vaccines. More importantly, Hester is evaluating various opportunities and global alliances for utilising its enhanced capacity.
An Indo-American joint venture company, it’s currently eyeing other tie-ups or technological collaborations with international vaccine majors to further its marketshare. Hester also plans to tap other emerging markets like Africa, Middle-East, South America and South-East Asia by the end of 2007. Already, the company has lined up registrations in Malaysia, Thailand and China.
It is already negotiating with a few vaccine equipment makers in the US to install better technology and invent new products for animals. Currently, it exports 10% of its total produce to few countries, which is expected to go up by 25% by 2007. On the cards is a live salmonella vaccine for poultry, which Gandhi says, could hit the market in six months time.
Hester markets its vaccines under the brand names Acti/Vac and In-acti/Vac, for its US-based partner Maine Biological Laboratories. The company set up its GMP facility in 1997 to manufacture several live and killed poultry vaccines. An industry waiting to be explored, Hester might soon become a major poultry vaccine producer in the world.
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