The Oman Pharmaceutical Products Company (OPPC) was officially inaugurated Saturday, January 3, 2004 in the Raysut Industrial Estate, Salalah.
OPPC, a business unit of the Ajay Group, will produce oral solids such as tablets, capsules, dry powder for oral suspension, oral liquids, syrups, elixirs, ointments, creams and gels. Marketed under the brand name Synova, the medicines will treat diabetes, cardiac diseases, central nervous diseases, dental and eye illnesses.
Established at a cost of $50 million, the plant has an annual installed capacity to produce 900 million units of tablets, 300 million units of capsules, 12 million bottles of liquid orals and 7.8 million tubes of topical and 7.5 million bottles of dry powder. The factory will also manufacture steroids and hormones, antibiotics and pain management medicines.
According to the company’s general manager, Rajendra H. Bhandari, OPPC will initially marker its products to the local market and will eventually expand to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Africa, Europe and the United States.
The Middle East’s pharmaceutical market is valued at over four billion dollars, placing it among the world’s top 10 markets, with an annual expansion rate of nine percent.
Oman predominantly imports its pharmaceutical products from the US and Europe. The Sultanate got its first drug company in 2001 with the establishment of National Pharmaceutical Industries (NPI). The company was promoted by the Ministry of Health and the major shareholders are the Omani government and the Shaikh Suhail Bahwan Group. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
