The Hindu Business Line : Elder Health Care ties up with Australian co

Outlook
EHCL to roll out BurnAid's gel at Rs 30-50 for a 25-g tube.
Expects the product to bring in Rs 10 crore revenue in first year of launch.

Mumbai , Oct. 18

Elder Health Care Ltd (EHCL) is looking to make India the manufacturing hub for the Australia-based Rye Pharmaceuticals' BurnAid range of wound-care products.

Part of the Elder Pharmaceuticals group, EHCL has recently entered into an in-licensing tie-up with Rye Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to develop, manufacture and market in India its advanced wound-care products for first-aid and burn applications.

Manufacturing hub

Dr Anuj Saxena, EHCL Managing Director, told Business Line that the company has the licence to manufacture and market Rye's wound-care products in India. The Rs 40-crore EHCL also looks to market the products in neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal. The South-Asian wound-care market is estimated to be about Rs 1,500 crore, he said.

But the bigger picture is to make India Rye's manufacturing hub for this product category, he said. A clear picture on this count is expected to emerge in 15 months, when the present in-licensing deal is tested on the ground.

The volumes and viability are being worked-out and the product would be made at EHCL's Uttaranchal facility, which is in the process of getting US regulatory approvals, he said. This would facilitate exports to regulatory markets.

Currently, Rye manufactures the products in Australia and ships it to Europe. This is both cost-intensive and take about 60 to 90 days, he said.

BurnAid is among Rye's most successful products and the basket comprises burn gels, gel dressings and burn kits that offer rapid cooling to the burn and pain relief.

EHCL will first roll out BurnAid's gel at between Rs 30 and Rs 50 for a 25-g tube, he indicated. The over-the-counter product is set to hit the market in November.

EHCL expects the product to bring in Rs 10 crore revenue in its first year of launch. The minor burns market is huge, he said, but in India there is a vacuum with hardly any products. Burnol, sold by Reckitt Benckiser to Morepen, is the other player in the market.

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