Mumbai, India
September 7, 2005
By C H Unnikrishnan,
Business Standard via
Checkbiotech
The Mumbai-based Gufic
Biosciences, a leading player in the country’s pharmaceutical
formulations and API sector, is foraying into agricultural
biotechnology in a big way.
The company, which has already
entered into the biotechnology with few speciality products in
cardiovascular and infertility segments, is now planning a fresh
investment of Rs 20 crore into its existing biotech R&D set-up.
Venturing into agrIculture biotech, Gufic biosciences had
recently developed tissue cultured pomegranate and Bixa seeds
along with few other hybrid crops.
Now, the company has initiated contract farming for Bixa plants
in about 400 acres of land in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Bixa, a
plant used for natural colour approved by US FDA and other food
and drug regulatory agencies, finds wider application in the
food, pharma and cosmetics industry.
The company, which has a buyback arrangement with the contract
farmers of Bixa, is planning to set up a food colour
manufacturing plant within its API facility at Navsari in
Gujarat, said Jayesh P Choksi, chairman and managing director.
“Agriculture biotechnology is also complementary to our existing
line of business as it would help its herbal consumer health
products division to control quality and availability of raw
materials. The company is now trying to grow its own herbs and
is also involved in tissue culture of certain fruits and
vegetables,” Choksi said.
He added that in the first year, the biotech-based seed business
would be targeting Maharashtra and nearby states.
But, within five years, it would become a national company with
distribution and marketing network all over the country, he
said.
Gufic Biosciences has a tissue culture facility of 6000 sq ft
for production of 3 million plants per annum and the production
unit can house 60,000 culture bottles at a time. It also has a
green house of 3,500 sq ft with evaporative cooling, misting and
shading equipment for hardening of tissue culture plants.
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