KSDP makes a remarkable turnaround

State government’s drug manufacturing facility records profit of ₹7.13 crore

For years, the Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (KSDP) was in the news mostly for unpleasant matters — from a defunct Vitamin A plant infested with bats to mounting losses and rumours of shutting down or take over.

But, in this COVID-19 period, it was noticed for all the right reasons, from record profits of ₹7.13 crore to plans for export of generic medicines once the pandemic subsides.

Behind this turn around is the State government’s fund infusion as part of a revitalisation plan, strict periodic monitoring, and a thrust towards diversification. Founded in 1974, it is perhaps the only drug manufacturing facility run by a State government in India.

The first proposal for modernisation was made in 2007, to make the plant compliant with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards of the World Health Organisation. Without that, the company would have been unable to sell its medicines. As part of the modernisation, a beta-lactam plant was commissioned in 2011.

But despite the KSDP making a profit of ₹2.49 crore that year, things went downhill again with the company incurring a loss of ₹4.98 crore in 2015-16. That was when the State government intervention came.

“In 2016, a plan was put forward to sell the defunct machineries in the Vitamin-A plant and use the building to set up a non-beta-lactam plant. This saved us around ₹20 crore. The new plant, costing ₹32.15 crore, was opened in 2019. In 2017, a dry powder injection plant at a cost of ₹10 crore and an NABL-accredited laboratory were commissioned. Now, the government has sanctioned a ₹50-crore project for non-beta injectables, which will be commissioned in December. Once that becomes a reality, the KSDP can produce almost all the medicines needed for Kerala,” says S. Shyamala, Managing Director of KSDP.

Its medicines, marketed through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation, are much sought after in other south Indian states too, especially Telengana and Andhra Pradesh. The KSDP’s market interventions are important in making available medicines at affordable rates. For instance, KSDP’s Azithromycin costs ₹6 for 500 mg, while a private company’s product costs ₹24. Soon after the COVID-19 outbreak, KSDP made available 7 lakh litres of hand sanitisers at ₹125 for 500 ml, while the market cost is anywhere between ₹150 to 200 for 100 ml.

“When everything was under lockdown, KSDP employees were working round-the-clock, producing 17.7 crore tablets, 3.13 crore capsules, and 2 lakh litres of injection medicines. The Industries Department has given us clear schedules and targets, with the Restructuring and Internal Audit Board (RIAB-Kerala) carrying out periodic monitoring,” says Ms. Shyamala.

On the anvil is an oncology park, to produce low-cost cancer medicines. The KSDP has secured an export licence, but the plan to enter the international market has been kept on hold due to the pandemic situation though enquiries have been coming in from the US and African countries.