Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAtL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India. It is based in Pune, India. It is the first government-owned-drug manufacturer in India. It was the first to launch a recombinant DNA product, rHU-Erythropoietin (Hemax) in 1993.
It introduced new products like Halpen, Haltax, Hexpan in 2008. Sati-HIV drugs will be produced from September 2009.[1]
History
HAtL was set up in cooperation with the WHO and UNICEF with the social objective of providing affordable drugs throughout India. It was inaugurated by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 10 March 1954. Production began in 1955. It was based on Mahatma Gandhi's vision that the poor in India should get medicines at affordable rates.
After reporting an operating loss in 1997 the company was reported to the Bureau of Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR). On 17 January 2009 the company was taken off the books of the BIFR after reporting a record turnover of ₹ 120 crore (US$24 million).