Over the years, Ideal Cures’ R&D department has helped pharma companies to adopt eco-friendly methods and increase productivity. Its recent INSTACOAT 4G is a new addition in this range. Suresh Pareek, MD, Ideal Cures, divulges more to Usha Sharma
Tell us more about Ideal Cures’ recent launch, Instacoat EHP 250.
Instacoat E-series was launched by the company to support the pharmaceutical industry in its endeavour to remove use of organic solvents in the coating process, reduce energy consumption thereby having an overall effect of reduction in carbon footprint. Instacoat EHP 250 is soluble in water and is a product which is used at 25 per cent reconstitution, which means that one takes 25 kg of Instacoat EHP 250 material and 75 kg of water, as compared to the other products available in the market, which requires six to 10 times the water. It effectively means that the need of carcinogenic organic materials is completely eliminated as well the energy required in evaporating solvents is saved. By using Instacoat EHP 250, customers have been able to reduce coating time by 50-60 per cent. In fact, few customers have been able to eliminate the need to purchase additional coating equipment and save the cost of a lot of infrastructure investments.
How has Ideal Cures helped pharma companies adopt eco-friendly measures to increase their productivity?
We collaborate with pharma companies worldwide in their endeavour to adopt eco-friendly methods and increase productivity by providing necessary technical support, including helping them with their batches on production as well as organising training seminars for them. EHP 250 and EMB are the products developed for this purpose. In fact, it has always been the endeavour of our company’s R&D department to help pharma companies adopt eco-friendly methods and the recent INSTACOAT 4G is a new addition in that regard.
Give an update on Instacoat 4G and tell us about the company’s plan for wet dispersion units?
INSTACOAT 4G is the fourth generation coating system launched to increase the productivity and adoption of eco-friendly methods for pharma companies. 4G works at 35 per cent reconstitution, which means it has 35 per cent solid content and 65 per cent water. It was specifically developed due to industry demand for continuous coating machines, which have 30 to 50 spray guns needed for immediate drying and film formation. The product has been effectively commercialised with customers in Europe using continuous coaters of O’Hara and Thomas Engineering.
How can pharma companies reduce risks in the supply chain?
There are about 32 pharma manufacturing plants in Sikkim. To help them reduce risks in the supply chain, we set up a manufacturing plant in Sikkim and started production. Ideal Cures is the first excipient company to start a manufacturing facility in Sikkim.
Has the Sikkim unit started commercial production?
The Sikkim unit started commercial production in March 2017 and is presently catering to customers in Sikkim. The current installed capacity is 75 metric ton per month single shift, with space for further expansion. The Sikkim unit will produce the full range of INSTACOAT coating systems, ESPHERES and some speciality products.
GST is finally coming into effect from July 1. Are you optimistic about the move?
In general, introduction of GST is a right initiative and reform needed in the country. There may be initial hiccups for some duration in the understanding of the reform. This will ultimately make all the states competitive. Introduction of GST would lead to streamlining of the compliance level across the country, simplify the taxation structure and its effect may vary according to the industry. Overall, I am very optimistic by this move and change brought in by the government.
Will there be shortage of medicines in the market due to implementation of GST?
In my view, there may be temporary shortages of not only medicines but in general all commodities across industries as the new law has to be understood and complied with. It make take the initial few months to understand the process and compliance, but production should continue because the shortage would not only affect manufacturers but consumers as well. Simultaneously, efforts may be made to exhaust existing finished goods before June 30. A seller would like to sell and a purchaser would like to delay the purchase, which may ultimately lead to shortage.
Could you throw some light on the recent investment by TA Associates in Ideal Cures?
The company will be able to benefit by having TA as a share-holder in the long run, by way of getting TA’s expertise and association with pharma industries worldwide. Apart from this, the company would have the necessary support in its expansion plans in market place as well as setting up new plants.
Tell us about the company’s plans for the current fiscal?
Last year, Ideal Cures opened its US office by getting Dr Kamlesh Oza on board. This year, the company would like to further expand its US operations and is actively looking at increasing the customer base. For this, we have also participated in CPhI, North America for the first time. We are also working towards providing the necessary support to pharma companies to achieve higher production levels in the sugar coating segment. To support this, we have launched new products like INSTACOAT SFC (Sugar Fast Coating) and CFC (Chewable Fast coating). Some more products are in the pipeline, which will be introduced in the current fiscal. We also have on board Mike Easterbrook as Chief Technical Officer, who will provide support for customer training programmes as well as in development of new products and technologies.
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