The Government of Ethiopia, in its endeavour to become self-sufficient, has invited Kilitch to explore supply of liquid injectables. After considering the request and opportunity, Kilitch Drugs is setting up its second green field project in Ethiopia to manufacture liquid injectables at a capital investment of $5 million. In this regard, the company has accepted the request of Ethiopian government for one hector land near Addis Ababa.

At the same time, the company’s first manufacturing plant has also reached a decisive stage of the completion process. Kilitch Drugs has begun installing machinery at the first Addis Ababa manufacturing unit and is all scheduled to commence the validation process this month (December). Process validation being an important tool in quality management of pharmaceuticals is a significant parameter of GMPs. Process validation helps ensure production of drug of a reproducible quality. Further, this also ensures that the quality assurance techniques used to build the quality into the product at every step is up to the desired standards.

Commenting on the company’s project status, Bhavin Mehta, Director, Kilitch Drugs, said, "We are happy to announce our second manufacturing venture in Ethiopia as also for the maiden unit which is now at a very critical stage of our project implementation cycle. Once the validation process is satisfactorily done, Kilitch Drugs plans to commence operations at the first unit in the first quarter of FY2020-21. Overall, our expansion plans will be involving a capital expenditure of Rs 42.60 crores. We are confident that manufacturing base in Ethiopia will strengthen our presence in the African continent."

Kilitch Drugs has registered over 300 products in key African countries and another 250+ products are under registration. It has been having a presence in Africa for over three decades now and during this period has gained a strong advantage. About 80 per cent of company’s revenues come from African operations. Ethiopia has been a centre of focus for the company and it has been exporting and marketing drug formulations in solid, liquid and parenteral dosage forms. Kilitch Drugs is bullish on the African markets and is expecting revenues to the tune of Rs 500 crs, in the next five years. Going forward, the company hopes to replicate its Ethiopian business model to the rest of Africa.