What were the key highlights of the company's business during FY 2022-23? 

Praj HiPurity delivered a strong financial performance in the last year. Post-COVID, the reaffirmed emphasis on self-sufficiency, expanding therapeutic categories, and the dire need for actual innovation gave the domestic and international pharma-biopharma business the much-needed spurt on expansion. We have delivered healthy growth on all key business performance parameters. Several leading pharmaceutical companies are bestowing their trust in Praj HiPurity as a testament to our commitment to uphold the principles of sustainable development.

Besides retaining existing key accounts, we have added new customers on the back of technology leadership and customer-centric approach. Customers see value in our products, processes and people. The fact that our offerings cut across all our customer needs from Critical Water Plants to Critical Process Systems having applications in the sterile and biotech industry. Our services business saw a steep rise owing to our ability to serve a multitude of customers simultaneously with a dedicated workforce and strong infrastructure. The water industry, complex injectables, high-capacity fermentation, and blood plasma projects all experienced impressive growth this year.

What major plans are in store for this fiscal year with respect to the pharma/biopharma sector? 

The market for fermentation presents unprecedented opportunities. A diverse talent pool, favourable tropical climate, and ease of doing business rank among the top factors that have increased investments in fermentation-based goods and processes used in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, nutraceutical, enzyme, and biopolymer industries. In addition to conducting several turnkey projects, Praj HiPurity is marching ahead by providing consulting services in design, plant and process automation, and Ready for Future (RFF) solutions. The future looks exciting with these new business frontiers.

The fact that we, in India, only handle one-sixteenth of total blood plasma compared to China, shows the earnest need for plasma product expansion. Post-COVID, the demand for plasma products has increased by 200 per cent and will continue to grow going forward. With its wide range of offerings, Praj HiPurity can address almost 100 per cent of the forthcoming blood plasma facilities in India. Our strategy is based on sharing our domain knowledge and unique delivery expertise with emerging domestic and international markets.

To enhance our service levels and reach our customers in remote locations, we have launched our Franchise Partner (FP) programme. By deploying our SpeED philosophy (Speed, Efficient approach, Depth of services), we can demonstrate value to our customers through partner networks.

Our broad portfolio of water solutions for the pharma industry will continue to see an increased demand in green-field, brown-field, and retrofit projects.

At Praj HiPurity, we always emphasise building future-ready, clutter-free solutions for quick decision-making by deploying water plant automation solutions for our customers. We will continue to provide the industry with access to our effective and efficient COMBI systems built on the Swedish Aquanova platform for the generation of pure steam for sterile facilities. These cutting-edge innovative solutions offer the most reliable, easy switch and low total cost ownership that helps reduce two of the critical S’s: Spares and Space by more than 30 per cent. These are interesting times for both the pharma and biopharma industry with the growing importance of health and wellness.

Are you planning new launches or partnerships to strengthen your presence in the biopharma/pharma space nationally and internationally?

There have been numerous firsts at Praj HiPurity. Our popular COMBI Unit and Smart Bioreactor platform are continuously gaining use in new and emerging facilities. The plant automation solution REMOTE-BRIDGE for Water plants is part of our latest offering that perfectly combines advanced monitoring systems with our experts. REMOTE-BRIDGE facilitates positive changes in the way plants are monitored and controlled. It will give consumers a predictable method for comprehending the Plant's current and future states. Our solutions will provide an immersive plant monitoring experience with an advanced troubleshooting facility when compared to traditional SCADA systems.

With the introduction of the Glacier variant for COLD WFI, Praj HiPurity has crossed yet another significant milestone. This innovative technology provides sustainable solutions for COLD WFI in addition to a significant reduction in Heat & Energy Footprint. Especially in the markets where energy costs and consumption are rising rapidly, this new solution is expected to have a strong impact. 

In yet another first in the industry, we launched the Electronic Quality Management System (EQMS), to offer our customers integrated quality records for fabricated equipment. For our customers in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, this is a very promising method to deliver the highest level of dependability, real-time data, and best-in-class quality standards compatibility. 

Are there any new investment plans for R&D or setting-up new facilities?

Intending to provide environment-friendly solutions for a future perfect world, Praj established Matrix – an R&D centre in 1989. This innovation engine of Praj is a state-of-the-art facility certified by the Government of India’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). Praj Matrix R&D centre is home to over 90+ research scientists who are the backbone of our business, and responsible for cutting-edge research and development for technology commercialisation. The centre has 300+ national and international patents to its credit.

We will soon launch a dedicated Technology Development Centre to take fermentation technology to the next level. This centre will focus on critical issues faced by customers in the complex injectable domain and work towards optimising fermentation solutions. We are actively pursuing patents for our cutting-edge solutions and processes. 

Standing true to our vision of making the world a better place, Praj Matrix conducts research in the emerging areas of industrial biotechnology, advanced biochemicals and health and wellness products. The zeal of working toward making the world a better place has stayed with us till today and will continue to do so.

How is Praj contributing to the sustainable growth of the pharma/biopharma industry in India? 

With more than 1000+ customer references in 100+ countries across  five continents, Praj is one of the preferred technology partners globally. Our technology-embedded solutions positively impact the environment, economy, and society to help strike a fine balance between people - planet - profit.

Innovation and sustainability are at the core of all our business endeavours. Owing to a fully integrated ISO-14001-certified facility, Praj HiPurity offers an environmentally friendly manufacturing setup that is unrivalled in its line of business. 

With our GREEN CHANNEL partner programme in promoting sustainable supply chain management, we strive hard to reduce our carbon, water, and energy footprints. Many supplier partners have signed up to be green channel partners. The most important contribution would be by providing tried and tested solutions for complex fermenters and injectable plants. 

As a part of our internal sustainability system, we monitor several key sustainability indices aligned with the principles of ESG. The key to achieving global success is to learn from the glorious history of failure and use personal virtue to avoid them to accomplish ultimate success.

Dr Manbeena Chawla

(manbeena.chawla@mmactiv.com)