Shantha Bio always believes in Make'in'g India

Sheela Mamidenna

On June 23^rd, at around 3pm the 1^st Edition of The Dollar Business Power Series Conclave concluded amidst much energy and enthusiasm. It was a meeting point for the best minds in the business and trade industry in India and the world to contemplate, deliberate and gather answers on “WHY MAKE’IN’G INDIA AN EXPORT MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR! Among the noted personalities invited to address the attendees, was Dr. Mahesh Bhalgat, Executive Director & COO, Shantha Biotechnics - A Sanofi Company. The Dollar Business correspondent had the opportunity to catch up with him and take his views on the future prospects of his company, the tough competition that pharma products withstand and the company’s transition as a subsidiary of Sanofi Pasteur.

Sanofi is listed in Paris and in New York stock exchanges. The company’s revenue in 2015 was €4,743 million. Sanofi has produced more than 1 billion doses of vaccines yearly to immunize more than 500 million people in the world and has invested more than €4,743 million in the last 5 years.

Sanofi India net profit figures in Q1 March 2016 over Q1 March 2015 rose 24.96% to Rs 80.60 crore on 12.13% rise in total income to Rs 570 crore. The large cap pharma company has an equity capital of Rs 23.03 crore.

1. Given the tough competition from other pharma players, how are the products of Shantha Biotech faring in the market?

   Shantha Biotechnics is a subsidiary of Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi. Presently Shantha is the fifth biggest manufacturing site for Sanofi Pasteur with its plants at Medchal and Muppireddipalli, Telengana. Considering the vaccine market scenario where vaccine shortages exist, all the products that we manufacture are supplied to various governments and health organizations. We currently supply Shan5 (pentavalent) through UNICEF, government and private markets. Shantha started supplying ShanIPV (injectable inactivated polio vaccine) to Indian government through UNICEF in Q4 2015. Shanchol (Oral Cholera vaccine) is supplied to WHO / UNICEF / PAHO. ShanvacB (HepB vaccine) for PAHO and public markets in several emerging countries, ShanTT (Tetanus vaccine) is supplied to UNICEF and Indian MOH.

2. Positioning and branding take an important place; does your company follow a different strategy to sell in the market?
   
   The goal of Shantha is to produce vaccines in India for Indian population and for the emerging countries. We will expand to provide vaccines to the northern markets where it makes business and strategic sense to do so for Sanofi Pasteur.  With respect to the distribution and marketing in the private market, we leverage Sanofi Pasteur’s strong marketing and distribution network towards making Shantha’s high quality, affordable vaccines available and accessible across the globe

3. In your recent media interview on 31^st May (media interaction regarding the opening of a new manufacturing facility near Hyderabad) you mentioned that you are targeting emerging markets Indonesia and Philippines to market your products. How far has that materialized?
   

   We are on track with this plan to send our vaccines to both these countries.

4. How is Shantha placed within Sanofi group and how much has Sanofi’s acquisition of Shantha Biotech made an impact on its products?

   Shantha is an important part of Sanofi Industrial Network. With the inclusion of Shantha in Sanofi’s network, the company will now be manufacturing not only for selling directly to customers but also to fulfill the needs of Sanofi Pasteur.  This opens up the possibility of a lot more movement of products and intermediates to and from Shantha.  Sanofi Pasteur is a market leader in vaccines and our products have certainly benefitted from Sanofi Pasteur’s more than 100 years of experience in vaccine manufacturing; ensuring robust processes and guaranteeing international quality standards.
5. With the Make in India wave getting stronger, what kind of leveraging is your company looking at? 

   From the onset, Shantha has been created with the “Make in India” spirit in mind. We were the first Indian company to develop, manufacture and market a recombinant human healthcare product – the Hepatitis B vaccine – in India. We make in India for India and for exports. As a matter of fact, we were the first company to supply IPV to the Indian government when it introduced the vaccine in UIP (universal immunization program). 80% of our vaccines are supplied to UNICEF and 20% to the Government agencies of various countries like Philippines and other emerging markets.

6. India is the largest producer of vaccines for the African countries, how does Shantha view the market in Africa or is it looking at other markets too?  

          Shantha supplies majority of its vaccines to middle and low-income countries in Africa & Asia Pacific through UNICEF and local Sanofi affiliates.