Lab & Allied seeks to expand into new markets

Local pharmaceutical company Lab & Allied has announced plans to enter new markets across Africa in five years, where it has identified opportunities for growth.

The firm, with its head offices along Mombasa Road, has invested Sh1.2 billion to enhance its production capacity to serve the new markets, including Nigeria and Ghana.

"We are moving forward into a phase of massive expansion regionally," said the company's founder Manesh Patel, who has retired as chief executive to become chairman. Suprakash Mandal is the company's new chief executive.

"With the collective management experience and deep understanding of country-level challenges, I am confident of the compounding growth."

The investment will be directed to research and infrastructure to support the wider product catalogue to cater for the 20 countries, in the firm's growth plans. Among its products are generic drugs which target low-income markets, because they retail at a fraction of the price on the original brands.