Apart from serving the domestic market, Akums also exports through its wholly-owned subsidiary Unosource Pharma Ltd. The company entered the export market in 2014 through its Mumbai-based entity and currently exports generic and branded formulations (around 5 per cent of its production) to over 50 countries. The company is expanding aggressively to high-value, semi-regulated markets such as MENA, LATAM, and Eastern Europe. It is looking to more than double its export contribution in the next 4-5 years.

It has filed substantial numbers of dossiers in these countries. Around 1,500 dossiers have been filed as per CTD, ACTD, and the guidelines of the Ministry of Health of various countries. The company enjoys various international accreditations/approvals like ANVISA, Brazil; NAFDAC, Nigeria; FDB, Ghana; TFDA, Tanzania; FDA, Philippines, and TFDA, Tanzania.

“The endeavour is to export our unique formulations around the globe and re-design global healthcare towards a happier world. There are also plans in the pipeline to create joint ventures in various countries, to set up manufacturing units and/or packaging units for semi-finished products exported from Akums’ Indian facilities,” says Jain.

Akums has also backward integrated into active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) manufacturing. In December 2019, it acquired listed bulk drugs manufacturer Parabolic Drugs Ltd through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code process. Through this acquisition, the company, under its subsidiary Akums Lifesciences Ltd, now has 3 manufacturing facilities across Punjab and Haryana. Designed per WHO and US FDA standards, these facilities manufacture 40+ APIs, focusing on beta-lactams and the oral & sterile range of cephalosporins. The company also has a dedicated facility for sterile and lyophilised anti-cancer drugs. Akums’ API is currently a Rs700 crore business. One of the company’s API facilities also has a state-of-the-art R&D centre for development and contract research & custom synthesis.

Focus on R&D

“With an array of clientele, including some of the biggest pharmaceutical brands across the globe, we have a great sense of responsibility. Hence, our core operation is quality, a trait that cannot be compromised. At Akums, quality-first commitment to regulatory excellence supports the objective of providing safe and efficacious pharmaceutical products to customers worldwide. Also, innovation is our building block; we have brought innovation not only into our existing products but also in R&D and various facets of production, among others. We are glad to be a trusted name in the country and will always maintain our promise in exceeding quality expectations and bringing innovation in pharmaceuticals,” says Sanjeev Jain, 57, founder & director, Akums.

For the last few years, Akums, being a technology-driven company, has been focusing considerably on R&D to improve the quality of formulations and developing newer and innovative dosage forms. The company invests around Rs50 crore every year in ramping up its R&D infrastructure. It has four DSIR-approved R&D centres, supported by fully integrated SAP & LIMS equipped laboratories. 

Apart from having centralised R&D centres in Haridwar where formulations are developed and researched, the company also has a modern R&D centre at Navi Mumbai where product development-related activities are carried out exclusively for regulated markets like the USA, EU, Canada, and Australia. Akums laboratories are fully equipped for physical and metallurgical testing, microbiological testing, effective controls of the process, chemical testing, pharmacological testing, and stability studies.

Akums has recently formed a partnership with Leiutis Pharmaceuticals LLP and Biophore India Pharmaceuticals to develop a range of products for multiple therapies. This partnership is expected to address the needs of patients suffering from CNS disorders, pain management, and hormonal disorders in an effective, safe, and convenient manner. 

The collaboration between the companies creates a unique value proposition for doctors and patients and leverages the strengths of each company.

Biophore is an established pharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures niche products for the generic industry, while Leiutis is a pharmaceutical product innovation company. Biophore’s state-of-the-art, multipurpose API manufacturing facilities in India comply with cGMP standards and meet the requirements of the US and EU drug regulatory authorities. Its technology development centre in Hyderabad facilitates the entire drug research process, from conceptualisation to regulatory submissions.

Akums, founded by Jain and his brother Sanjeev in 2004, started as a contract manufacturing facility in Haridwar for oral solid dosage with a turnover of around Rs190 crore within 2 years. Since then, the company has expanded its manufacturing network to 15 facilities, including three API facilities, investing over Rs2,000 crore in setting up additional infrastructure. Out of its 10 formulations facilities, Akums' nine manufacturing units are in Haridwar, and one is in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, which it acquired in 2021. The company also has a new formulation unit at Nalagarh in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, which resulted from its latest acquisition of a facility from Ankur Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Akums has created one of the best pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the industry, boasting of 16,500 product SKUs. Its world-class manufacturing facilities are equipped with ultra-modern equipment and machinery for manufacturing formulations in a wide range of dosage forms, including tablets, hard and soft gelatine capsules, dry and liquid syrups, dry and liquid injectables, prefilled syringes, large volume parenterals, eye and ear drops, and herbal, nutraceuticals, dermatological, hormonal, and cosmeceutical products. The company has a total formulation manufacturing capacity of 64 billion units per annum.

With these ramped-up capabilities, Akums has positioned itself strongly in the CRAMS market, which has grown rapidly in the last decade. The company has created an integrated portfolio of services, which has provided it an edge over the competition. Apart from building a strong manufacturing capability, the company is also investing in R&D and is therefore emerging as a one-stop solution provider for a large number of marquee clients. Going forward, Akums will continue to leverage its position and share in the market.