Key Takeaways:
- Rs 3 crore profit in FY 2025/26 after Rs 10 crore loss last year
- Revival credited to WHO Good Manufacturing Practice certification
- Company now produces 11 medicines, plans expansion to 37 types
- Govt allocates Rs 24 crore to boost equipment, manpower and output
The Nepal Aushadhi Limited, which once struggled to pay employees and remained virtually closed for nearly a decade, has returned to profit after 25 years, posting a Rs 3 crore profit in FY 2025/26.
The state-owned firm had suffered a loss of more than Rs 10 crore in FY 2024/25, but its turnaround has been attributed largely to obtaining Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the World Health Organisation last year. The certification boosted production and sales, enabling the company to supply medicines to government agencies under direct arrangements.
General Manager Kailash Kumar Paneru said the company has set a target of Rs 30 crore turnover this year, noting that when he joined in September 2023, employees had not received salaries for months and payments to institutions were overdue.
The company currently produces 11 types of medicines, including paracetamol and oral rehydration salts, but plans to expand to 22 types with new equipment. Within two months, it aims to introduce medicines for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, iron-folic acid, deworming and azithromycin - all part of the government's essential medicines list.
Longer-term, the company hopes to reduce dependence on imports and secure domestic supplies during disasters and epidemics. Studies have already been completed for another 11 medicines, with preparations underway for a further 15 types, taking the pipeline to 37 medicines.
Nepal Aushadhi Limted once produced 114 medicines and employed 375 staff, but operations nearly collapsed in 2007/08. Revival began in 2016/17 with government funding, followed by infrastructure upgrades and a voluntary retirement scheme.
The government has now placed the company among its priorities, setting a target under its 100-point governance reform programme to gradually produce 98 types of free medicines within three years.