Bharat Serums to expand footprints to South-East Asia, Africa

Bharat Serums and Vaccines will focus on South-East Asia and Africa as target markets for its women’s health and critical care products in the coming years, Rahul Adakmol, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, International Operations & Business Development, told Moneycontrol in an interview.

“Our general focus is on South-East Asia currently,” he said. “We will also focus on Africa as we see there are a lot of unmet needs there,” he added. Adakmol underscored that these regions currently contribute nearly 50 percent of the company’s revenue share.

Specialising in women’s health and critical care products, the PE firm Advent-backed company has observed distinctive trends in women’s health and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments in the Asian market. Adakmol noted that several South-East Asian nations, popularly believed to have more advanced healthcare infrastructure compared to India, are in a developmental stage reminiscent of the Indian IVF market’s situation 8-10 years ago. IVF services in these countries are currently offered on a smaller scale by individual practitioners. In contrast, India has witnessed a decline in social stigmas associated with seeking infertility treatments, resulting in expanded infrastructure to meet the surging demand. Adakmol highlighted the mainstream acceptance of infertility and IVF treatments across India, which has yet to be paralleled in the South-East Asian market.

Currently, India conducts an annual average of 200,000 to 250,000 IVF cycles. Projections indicate that this figure could surge to 500,000 to 600,000 cycles annually by 2030, driving the market value to surpass $3.721 billion from $793 million in 2020.

Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) has taken significant strides towards implementing its plan. This includes the acquisition of Malaysia’s Firstline Pharmaceuticals Sdn Bhd and Genomicks Sdn Bhd. The former, established in 2007, specialises in distributing fertility treatments within Malaysia. Complementing this, Genomicks, founded in 2016, focuses on the distribution of medical devices in the same region. Together, these companies offer an array of products, such as Foliculin, Hucog, Humog, and Fortelle+Omega 3.

Five months into the acquisition, Adakmol said that the companies gave a lot of synergies and helped in establishing a healthy pipeline of products for the coming years. “The acquisition of the companies gave us a front-end in the women’s health segment,” he added.

Harnessing the potential of recombinant technology
BSV’s Anti-Rho (D) immunoglobulin product is the world’s first marketed recombinant Anti-D with patents in India, the US, Europe, Australia and Canada, according to the company. The AntiD injection prevents antibodies from forming during pregnancy when a mother has Rh-negative blood and the baby is Rh-positive.

While the industry trend revolves around the development of biosimilars, Bharat Serums is trying to focus on the niche area of recombinant technology. The company is currently trying to develop unique products (products that are not biosimilars) across therapies. Adakmol emphasised that recombinant technology will be the value driver for the company in the coming years. The organisation’s current priority is to take the AntiD product to more countries across the globe.

Recombinant technology modifies DNA, combining genes from diverse sources to make novel genetic mixes. Scientists insert specific genes into organisms such as bacteria, prompting them to produce desired proteins that can be harvested and used for various purposes, such as medical treatments or industrial processes.

Focus on women as customers and in the sales force
BSV has carved a niche in recent years by focusing on women and critical-care products. However, one thing that the company noticed is the low participation by women in the workforce in India. Adakmol added that it was unique to see women take up sales roles and roles as team managers when the company entered the South-East Asian markets. He recollected the story of a woman sales manager who volunteered to ensure the supply of critical-care products to an insurgency-hit area in the Philippines in the dark of the night a few years ago. This exemplifies how gender diversity and empowerment can drive not only corporate success but also impactful contributions to communities in need, he added. Moneycontrol