Bal Pharma a key player in the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), Gliclazide is ramping up its capacity post the Covid-19 shutdown over the last 18 months.

The company has a total installed capacity to manufacture 17.5 MT Gliclazide per month. It has two manufacturing facilities one at Bommasandra, Bangalore with a capacity of 7.5 MT per month and the second in Udaipur, Rajasthan which has a capacity of 10 MT per month.

The capacity utilisation at the Bangalore facility had slumped to 60 per cent due to Covid-19 restrictions but it bounced back to 85 per cent utilisation in FY21. The second facility at Udaipur which was commissioned in September 2020 had utilisation of only 35 per cent in FY21. It has now ramped up production across both the plants.

The company expects to achieve an average utilization of 70 per cent of its Gliclazide capacity in FY2022.

According to Shailesh Siroya, Managing Director, BAL Pharma, ``The company will launch its formulation of Gliclazide MR 30 and 60 mg tablets in the EU market and is expected to file dossier in Q1FY23. While Africa and Latin America remains the dominant market for export formulations, the company plans to increase its presence in various geographies like Southeast Asia and CIS countries

Gliclazide, API is a sulfonyl urea component used for treating type 2 diabetes, has been an important contributor in the company's earnings. In terms of volume, the company commands a market share of 25 per cent globally for Gliclazide, as per the IQVIA report and is growing at the rate of 5% per annum. The company also captively consumes its Gliclazide for manufacturing formulations. Its domestic formulations are sold under the brand name DIABEND.