Bajaj Healthcare Limited (BHL) has been awarded tenders for the highly regulated opiate processing business by the Centre, the pharma company said on July 13, announcing its entry into the sector as the government seeks to boost the yield of alkaloids used in various drugs.
Bajaj Healthcare Limited has been awarded two tenders for manufacturing of “concentrated poppy straw (CPS)”, alkaloids and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from unlanced poppy capsules along with straw through CPS and opium gum from the government.
BHL said in an exchange filing that it was the first private player in the country to be awarded a tender for opiate processing, a highly regulated and government-owned business.
The company has received a letter of award on July 12 for manufacturing APIs from the processing of 500 MT of unlanced poppy capsule along with straw on an annual basis.
It also received another letter of award to manufacture alkaloids and APIs from the processing of 100 MT of opium gum on an annual basis.
BHL plans to execute both the tenders at its API manufacturing unit in Gujarat’s Savli.
“The APIs will be manufactured under highly regulated conditions & under strict adherence to protocols prescribed by the Government of India,” the company said.
India allows the cultivation of poppy and the opium gum thus produced is used in the extraction of alkaloids used for medical purposes. To boost the yield of alkaloids, the Centre a few months ago decided to rope in the private sector to commence the production of concentrated poppy straw, reports said.
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