It’s not fresh news that China’s former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, was sentenced to death for corruption and bribery in connection with tainted pet food products and toothpaste. But for at least one China-based pharmaceutical company trying to push its products through the approval process, the news remains at the forefront of thought.
Lotus is a pharmaceutical company based out of Beijing, China, focused on manufacturing drugs for its 10 drug stores in addition to third-party stores. Working directly from China has its benefits and disadvantages.
While low labor costs in China is an advantage to company operations, Wasserman said the fact the company is in China, in light of FDA scandal, is an issue.
“The biggest problem we have right now is getting our pipeline of drugs approved … there’s been a big hold up in the approval of any drugs,” Wasserman told Market News First. “We anticipate to have some of the drugs approved by the end of 2007, but nobody knows at this point,” he said.
Though some of the company’s drugs have been have been awaiting approval since 2005, the company reported positive numbers in 2007 first-quarter results.
The company recently announced its 2007 first-quarter results, reporting an increase in revenue by 26.73 percent, and working capital inching toward $10 million.
For the three months ended March 31, 2007, Lotus reported revenue of $8.2 million, up from $6.5 million last year.
“The performance of Lotus is a tribute to our superior products and personnel. We firmly believe our existing operations can realize organic growth of 20 percent per year for the coming years,” said Dr. Liu Zhongyi, Lotus CEO, in a press release.
Even with time delay’s regarding drug approval, Wasserman said the company intends to continue to manufacture drugs and open increase retail and manufacturing operations. Wasserman added the company plans to raise between $7 million to $10 million within the next six months for expansion and acquisitions in China.
“There are a lot of things going on that are really good for the company, it’s getting stronger as we get more used to reporting in the United States,” said Wasserman. “It’s a really solid company
