Bajaj Healthcare forays into highly-regulated opiate processing business

Bajaj Healthcare said it has received two orders from the central government to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from poppy capsules and other derivatives on an annual basis

Bajaj Healthcare on Wednesday said it has forayed into the highly regulated opiate processing business.

The company said it has received two orders from the central government to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from poppy capsules and other derivatives on an annual basis.

It plans to execute both these tenders from its API manufacturing unit located at Savli, Gujarat.

"We have been awarded two tenders for the supply of Opium derived Alkaloids and APIs to the GOI, under long-term contracts and expect successive orders under similar tenders to scale up to the processing of 6,000 MT of Poppy Straw and Opium Gum in the next five years," Bajaj Healthcare Joint Managing Director Anil Jain said in a regulatory filing.

The Indian opiate market holds good potential and the receipt of this order opens the doors to a new business vertical with better margins, he added.

"This is for the first time in the history of the nation that the government has deregulated Opiate Processing to a private player, and we are extremely honoured to be awarded the very first tender in this segment," Jain said.