Hi-Tech Pharmacal Looks to the Future

With an increasing number of branded pharmaceutical products losing patent protection— and a range of opportunities available to companies willing to invest in product development—Hi-Tech Pharmacal is bullish about its future.

Rather than simply looking for merger or consolidation opportunities, Hi-Tech continues to be focused on driving its growth and success as a completely independent, American generic pharmaceutical company. You do not have to look any further than their research and development (R&D) budget for proof.

With over $6 billion of branded liquids—including nasal sprays, semi-solid, and sterile products—losing patent protection over the next 5 years, Hi-Tech is ideally positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.

As a developer and manufacturer of liquid and semi-solid dosage forms, Hi-Tech has the expertise necessary to develop and manufacture these drugs, including those products that require sterile manufacturing.

Commited to Innovation

Hi-Tech currently has 16 products submitted to the FDA pending approval and approximately 20 products in various stages of development. The company is continually expanding their range of products, dosage forms, and packaging configurations. In fact, Hi-Tech recently came out with unit dose packaging— an innovative dosage form that gives hospitals a choice of delivery systems.

“We’re committed to finding ways to deliver value at Hi-Tech,” notes president and chief executive officer David Seltzer. “We’re driven by the same core values we established when the company was founded in 1982—focus, innovation, confidence, and trust.”

In an industry that faces continual challenges, Seltzer exhibits the confidence that comes with success. “We remain very optimistic about our future,” he says. “We see tremendous opportunity ahead of us as our generics pipeline is more robust than ever.”

Now in its second year after acquiring ECR Pharmaceuticals, a branded specialty pharmaceutical company, Hi-Tech is seeing the results on its bottom line. ECR’s line includes branded prescription products for the treatment of allergies, headaches, and dermatitis/poison ivy. With nearly $20 million in sales to-date this fiscal year, ECR’s field force has grown to 60 representatives covering 16 states.

“This acquisition allows Hi-Tech to capitalize on ECR’s growing sales, and brings experienced management with a successful track record in developing new products,” explains Seltzer.

Opportunities on the Horizon

For his part, Hi-Tech vice president of sales and marketing Ed Berrios points out that every new product is another opportunity to make strong partnerships even stronger.

“We’re a business partner, first and foremost,” Berrios says. “Our pharmacy partners are an integral part of our success, and we’re committed to providing even greater value in the future. That’s why we continue to invest in research and development— we’re now spending 3 times as much on R&D as we were just 4 years ago.”

With 20 projects in development, most of the company’s new generic pharmaceutical products are developed internally. The company currently employs 23 pharmaceuticals scientists, 6 of whom have PhD degrees.

Dr. Kamel Egbaria joined Hi-Tech as the company’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer in April 2010 and brings over 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with an emphasis on liquid products development and manufacturing.

Hi-Tech is currently developing drugs with total branded sales of over $3 billion, which will bring a broad range of opportunities to its pharmacy partners over the next several years.

For more information, visit www.hitechpharm.com.