Dr Reddy's Laboratories is setting up a formulations manufacturing facility in Goa. The company has commenced implementing the project, which is expected to go on stream before the end of the current fiscal.

Though company officials are tightlipped on the investment size of the project, it is understood to be significant since the unit is meant to catering to the overseas market.

The company's decision to set up a new formulations plant for overseas market is seen as a reflection of its business plans and growth prospects in the finished dosages segment.

Of the company's turnover of Rs 1,283 crore (Rs 12.83 billion) for the nine months ended December 2002, formulations (domestic and international) and generics divisions contributed Rs 541 crore (Rs 5.41 billion) and Rs 193 crore (Rs 1.93 billion), respectively.

"Goa has a well developed infrastructure and is strategically located in terms of access to markets. It also provides fiscal benefits. Another key reason for choosing Goa is the company's stated objective of geographically diversifying its manufacturing facilities", V S Vasudevan, chief financial officer said.

Dr Reddy's currently has six active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facilities. All of them are USFDA inspected. It also has six finished dosages (formulations) facilities.

One of these finished dosages facilities, located on the outskirts of the Hyderabad, caters to the US and Europe.

This facility, which was set up in 1999 with an investment of about Rs 50 crore, has been successfully inspected four times by the US FDA, once by UK-MCA and once by South Africa-MCC. These inspections have also been acknowledged and approved by Australia -TGA and Canada -TPP.

The company had earlier in 2002-03 commissioned a formulations unit at Yanam in Pondicherry. This unit caters to the requirements of the dometic as well as some emerging markets such as Russia.