Biolab to Spend B300m for Plant Upgrade
A leading pharmaceutical maker, Biolab Co., Ltd., will spend 300 million baht in 2012 to improve its production plant at Bangpu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan. President Rachod Thakolsri said the upgrade will help strengthen production prior to Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Four years ago, Biolab has already upgraded its plant using 450 million baht. It has positioned itself to be a pharmaceutical leader in Southeast Asia for many years.
Biolab, an affiliate of the Bio Group, was found in 1981 to produce various formulations such as powders, tablets, capsules, liquids, ointments, creams, and sterile preparations (small-volume liquids and powders). It exports more than 150 products to Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, the Middle East and Africa.
Because of great demand, Biolab increased their investment to more than US$10 million to triple its production capacity while importing advanced production lines and having its own research and development and quality-control laboratories.
Sales from original-equipment manufacturing (OEM) is expected to increase from 10% to 30% of total sales within four years where as the revenue from its own brands will drop from 90% to 70%.
It is expected that this year’s sales figure will reach 1.2 billion baht, a jump of 9% from 1.1 billion baht last year.
In 2011, Biolab signed a contract with the Pfizer, a New York pharmaceutical company, to produce and supply Pfizer products in local market. Besides Pfizer, Biolab is hoping to produce for other US drug makers domestically. The company signed an OEM contract to make medicine for Takeda, a Japanese Pharmaceutical firm. It is in talks with other global pharmaceutical companies to make and distribute in Asean.
According to Mr. Rachod, the government’s initiation to turn Thailand into Asia’s medical hub during integration of Asean in 2015 will be beneficial to Thailand’s medical sector.
Source: bangkokpost.com/business/economics/307513/biolab-to-sink-b300m-into-plant-upgrade