Wockhardt to offer its Waluj formulation facility for US FDA inspection in early 2018

Moneycontrol News
Drug maker Wockhardt will be offering its Waluj facility near Aurangabad, Maharashtra in early 2018 for US FDA inspection. “We are doing whatever remedial work that is required,” Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of of the company said.

“In near future, we would be able to offer one of our facility for inspection,” he said at the launch of his autobography titled ‘Odyssey of Courage’.

Wockhardt has 12 plants, of which nine are located in India and the rest three are in the US, UK and Ireland each.

The company’s formulation units at Chikalthana and Waluj in Maharashtra have been under the USFDA’s import alert since 2013, while its bulk drug plant at Ankleshwar in Gujarat was also issued an import alert.

It’s US and UK facilities have been under warning letters too.

For its part, Wockhardt has been trying to weather the storm. It has enlisted external consultants to aid its extensive remediation exercise.

Khorakiwala also denied reports about the company planning to sell its Indian formulation business or any of its manufacturing facilities.

He further plans to mentor budding entrepreneurs through a programme designed in partnership with Accenture called ‘School of Courage’.

Khorakiwala, became the second Indian pharmaceutical entrepreneur to launch his autobiography after late Anji Reddy, the founder-chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories

Khorakiwala recounted his journey that transformed the small Mumbai-based family-owned drug company called Worli Chemical Works into German sounding Wockhardt - one of India’s largest drug maker and the company’s entry into drug discovery programme focused on antibiotics.