Hyderabad - Biotech & Pharmaceutical Hub Updates

[ygvjs2000]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle2668110.ece

GVK Bio, Temple University in drug discovery tie-up

NEW DELHI, NOV 28:
GVK Biosciences has struck a multi-year drug discovery collaboration with the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, US.

The Moulder Center is focussed on drug discovery in the area of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. It works with industry and other universities in joint research projects.

In recent years, with new drug discovery and bringing to market becoming prohibitively expensive and success rates falling, large pharma companies, which had invested heavily earlier have started looking at Universities and academia for basic discovery research.

Keeping this trend in mind, GVK Biosciences, a contract research organisation has forged a partnership with the Temple University. The first priority will be to identify potential molecules that can be taken to the clinical stage. The target area will be cardio metabolic diseases, Dr J.B. Singh, Senior Vice-President (Collaborative Research), told Business Line.

Nearly 75 per cent of the collaborative work will be done at the facilities of GVK Biosciences near Hyderabad. This includes target validation, lead identification and lead optimisation of small molecules. “We have a dedicated group with integrated drug discovery expertise (including chemistry and biology) and technologies to identify interesting small molecules against selected targets”, he said.

This collaboration with Temple University is among several academic collaborations GVK Bio has with leading research institutions, Mr Manni Kantipudi, Chief Executive Officer said. The outcome of the research will be commercially exploitable and GVK Bio will be inventor on the patents.

Dr Magid Abou-Gharbia, Director of the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research and Associate Dean for Research in Temple's School of Pharmacy said working with GVK Bio we can further leverage both teams' talents to identify innovative drug candidates.

[ygvjs2000]

Asia’s Generic Drugs Boom Swells Cargo Sales for Lufthansa, UPS: Freight
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1...a-freight.html
When the patent on Pfizer Inc. (PFE)’s Lipitor expired last week, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.’s generic version was the first to hit U.S. drugstores, some 7,000 miles away from the northern Indian factory where the production process started.
Providing transport for Asia’s burgeoning generic-drug industry is an investment priority for Deutsche Lufthansa AG and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) The pharmaceutical logistics segment will grow 12 percent this year to 47 billion euros ($63 billion) as more drugs are made in Asia and other developing markets, according to research firm Transport Intelligence Ltd.
“Just about every airline is looking at this space with interest right now,” Dan Gagnon, UPS’s European health-care logistics director, said in an interview. “As more competition gets into this space, you need to come up with solutions that are more economical but provide the same level of service.”
UPS, which provides freight service for German drugmaker Merck KGaA, has invested in five new pharmaceuticals facilities in the past year and last week purchased drugs logistics company Pieffe Group in Italy. Lufthansa opened a cold cargo facility in Frankfurt today to add to a pharmaceutical hub in Hyderabad, India, which started operations in May.
Pharmaceutical logistics growth will average 7.6 percent in the coming years, reaching 63 billion euros by 2015, according to a report last week by Transport Intelligence analyst Cathy Roberson. Biotech and pharmaceutical products represent the highest value per airlifted pound for any cargo, she said.
Topping Electronics
The 12 percent growth predicted for pharmaceutical air freight over the next five years outstrips the 4 percent anticipated in electronics cargo, which has traditionally been the strongest sector for air freight demand, Roberson said.
“The growth will be driven by emerging markets,” in particular India, China and Brazil, Roberson said in the report. “Continued outsourcing to these locations, along with changes in government legislation, will drive increases in logistics spending.”
Lufthansa’s cargo unit, whose customers include Ranbaxy, is planning to dedicate six McDonnell Douglas MD-11s by 2015 to handle pharmaceuticals as the five Boeing Co. 777s the airline will start receiving at the end of 2013 free up capacity. “Far more” than 12 percent of Lufthansa’s annual growth in India is coming from drug transports, said Karl Ulrich Garnadt, who heads the cargo unit.
High-Value Cargo
“It has been our most successful product in the past few years,” Andreas Otto, Lufthansa Cargo’s head of sales and marketing, told journalists in Frankfurt today, adding that the cool segment now accounts for a little less than 10 percent of the unit’s revenue. “The value carried in one container can easily reach more than $30 million.”
UPS, aiming to exceed the market forecasts for pharmaceutical air cargo growth of up to 12 percent, is currently tying up deals to improve its Asian facilities, Gagnon said. He expects an announcement in “about a month.”
“Infrastructure for us in India has been quite limited,” Gagnon said. “For our strategic initiatives, that is an area in which we will be investing.” UPS already has a cold cargo facility in Singapore.
India’s pharmaceutical exports are expected to grow 23 percent annually to 2015 as the quantity of generic drugs produced in the country increases, according to a joint study by the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India and Deutsche Post AG released in September.
FDA in India
With more than 100 plants, India is home to more U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities than anywhere else outside the U.S. The FDA has had offices in New Delhi since 2008 and Mumbai since 2009 to enable better regulation of drugs produced in India.
While not all drugs require a controlled temperature environment to maintain their efficacy, vaccines, some medical devices, diagnostic kits and so-called biological medicines -- which are made from a living organism as opposed to chemical processes -- often do.
Seventy percent of drugs expected to dominate the market over the next four years fall into this biological bracket, and will therefore require more stringent temperature control measures in their transport, said Savvas Neophytou, a London- based Panmure Gordon health care analyst.
CSafe LLC, based in Dayton, Ohio, leases its 200 temperature-controlled containers to UPS, Deutsche Post’s DHL unit and FedEx Corp. (FDX) The company plans to build another 100 containers in 2012, according to its president.
Temperature Control
“Our product is really designed for that strict two to eight degrees centigrade,” Brian Kohr, CSafe’s chief, said in a telephone interview. “It could be going from a really hot ambient to a very cold ambient or vice versa and it has to maintain the temperature.”
Also contributing to growth are drug companies’ efforts to consolidate their number of production sites, said Jack Scannell, a Sanford Bernstein analyst.
“The upshot of that is that you end up shipping as you have less local production,” Scannell, who is based in London, said by telephone. “There has been a long gradual process over the past ten years to try to rationalize pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
‘Vast Untapped Market’
Health-care companies’ predilection for carrying out many of their logistics needs in-house also presents a “vast untapped market” for external carriers, Transport Intelligence analyst Joel Ray said by telephone.
“For us the biggest opportunity and competition is in- sourced supply chains,” UPS’s Gagnon added. “Health care is behind when it comes to outsourcing, and if we break down the market, that’s where most of our opportunities come from.”
An added perk is that pharmaceutical demand is unlikely to be harmed by an economic slump, Joerg Bodenroeder, who manages Lufthansa’s new cool center in Frankfurt, told journalists today.
“We saw in 2009 that the need for medical products and pharmaceuticals is also stable in crises,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Webb in Frankfurt awebb25@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net.

[Akruti]

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[rockystone]

World’s first femtosecod laser cataract surgery machine launched in Hyderabad

http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=67297&sid=1

World’s first VICTUS femtosecond laser cataract surgery machine was inaugurated by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India, at Maxivision Eye Care Hospital in Hyderabad.

VICTUS is the most advanced innovative technology breakthrough in the field of eye surgery. It uses very short pulses of laser which are of the duration 10-15th part of a second.

This technology essentially helps doctors to conduct cataract, refractive and therapeutic procedures of the eye on a single platform. The laser machine would enable eye surgeons to perform computer controlled precise, accurate and reproducible incisions compared to current manual procedures.

“Hyderabad is one of the intellectual hubs of India in the field of medicine. The medical fraternity should strive to develop innovative technology at affordable costs so that it reaches to the larger spectrum of people in need”, said the former nuclear scientist. Dr Kalam further suggested that teams of experts should be formed to explore the multidimensional uses of femtosecond laser in treating various eye ailments.

Application specialist, Tauf, from Germany, who was also present at the inauguration function, said, “It is the most advanced machine which uses femtosecond laser technology to perform eye surgeries. Already the machine was under test since 2010 and has cleared all performance tests with very high accuracy.”

So far 450 eye operations have been successfully performed by the hospital without any complications. This successful clinical research has enabled it to get approved of CE (European Conformity) mark in the European Union.

Dr Kasu Prasad Reddy, a leading ophthalmologist and the founder of Maxivision Eye Care Hospital has played a vital role in bringing this technology to India. “The laser refractive surgery (LRCS) offered by VICTUS platform will allow ophthalmologists to create more precise, controlled and centred incision that allows access to the cataract clouded lens. It enables effective treatment in short duration as there are no physical cuts involved and the patients can be sure of 100 per cent success,” he said.

[aniketh87]

when it comes to bio-technology ................. i think hyderabad is best in India

[ygvjs2000]

yes it is. This is one reason Lufthansa has set up a temperature controlled to export uni for generic drugs at Hyderabad Airport. There are many generic drugs which as demand in US are manufactured in Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by aniketh87

when it comes to bio-technology ................. i think hyderabad is best in India

[ygvjs2000]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...ry-and-economy
HYDERABAD, FEB. 9:
The Andhra Pradesh Government is making its policies more industry friendly, according to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the BioAsia 2012 here on Thursday, he said Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh had the best infrastructure in the country.

“Hyderabad has again become best destination for investments,” he said.

Dr J. Geetha Reddy, Minister for Industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh said the State was emerging as a hub for “all kinds of businesses.”

Dr Krishna Ella, Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, requested the Government to set up a panel on pollution norms for the biotech industry.

Prof Tissa Vitarana, Senior Minister for Science and Technology, Sri Lanka, said biotechnology had potential to eradicate many diseases and was contributing to significantly to heathcare.

Dr K.V. Raghavan, Vice-President, Federation of Asian Biotech Associations, said the Indian biotech industry had crossed over $3 billion in 2010-2011.

Referring to biotech industry growth the State, he said the Genome Valley near Hyderabad had over 100 biotech units.

The Chief Minister presented the Genome Valley Excellence Award to Dr Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, GAVI Alliance, Geneva and Mr Kevin Ali, President, Emerging Markets, Merck, USA.

The three-day event is being attended by about 250 companies and delegates from 35 countries.

[Gudavalli]

Originally Posted by ygvjs2000

[url]

“Hyderabad has again become best destination for investments,” he said.

Nice to hear that

Source: http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=67465&sid=2

A Raju, Hyderabad
Friday, February 10, 2012, 09:00 Hrs [IST]
The scientists at the Indian institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad are on their way to have a breakthrough invention of generating electricity from dye based and organic based solar cells. The central government has sanctioned Rs.100 crore for research in luminescence technology, which can be used for development of organic light emitting diodes.

Thanks to the revolutionary research done by the scientists at IICT Hyderabad, they have initially achieved an efficiency of 11 per cent and research is on to improve the durability of the product to 10 years.

The luminescence technology is currently under development and it is likely to be available for commercial use in the next three years. It is believed that with just using only 1.5 volts of electricity the entire room will be illuminated using this organic light emitting diode technology.

If this technology becomes a reality, it is said that more than 50 per cent of the domestic power bills will be saved and it can also be used in street lights. This will be saving a considerable amount of power.

Dr L Giribabu, a scientists at IICT’s nano materials laboratory said, “We were working with a target of achieving 10 per cent efficiency, but we could achieve 11 per cent efficiency. The highest efficiency one can achieve is 33 per cent, which is currently quite difficult. We are working to improve the durability of the product to 10 years to make it more economical.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th international conference on luminescence and its application, Dr Giribabu said the project is one of the prestigious projects taken up by the scientists at IICT.

The conference was organized by the Rajiv Gandhi University of knowledge Technologies, IICT and Society for information Display and Luminescence society of India. About 350 experts in light technology from across the world have visited the conference.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=67478&sid=2

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Kiran Kumar Reddy has called upon the industry leaders and new investors to explore and tap the best potentials available in the state. He emphasized that the government is giving more priority to the pharma and biotechnology sector and is devising more industry friendly policies to retain its past tag of a pioneering industrial state in the country.

While inaugurating the 9th edition of BioAsia 2012 at Hyderabad International Convention Centre at Hitex, Reddy said, “We are again on the track and looking forward for a sustainable growth. In that direction we are working hard to make Hyderabad to once again become the best destination for investments in the country.”

Over the past 2 years the industrial sector in the state has been worried over the past disturbances and uncertainties in the government. Moreover the unresolved contentious issues between the pharma industry, the regulatory authorities and the pollution control board have also halted growth activities in the state.

Now with the government’s assurance to support and devise friendly policies for the industrial sector, new investors are enthused to invest in the state especially in the vaccine and bio pharma sector. Companies like GSK, Pfizer, and Sanofi are planning to venture in to the state provided the state government takes proactive steps in accelerating its industry friendly policies.

Dr J Geetha Reddy, Minister for Industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh was also present at the inauguration session of the event. She said, “The government is ready to provide all the facilities to help industry to grow and make the State an emerging hub for all kinds of businesses in the country.”

With regard to speedy resolution of issues, Dr Krishna Ella, Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, requested the Government to set up a panel on pollution norms for the biotech industry.

“The biotechnology industry is growing on a faster pace in the state. There are more than 100 biotech units located in the Genome valley. During the year 2010-11 the Indian biotech industry has crossed $3 billion and is poised to grow further in the coming years,” said Dr K V Raghavan, vice-president, Federation of Asian Biotech Associations.

Genome Valley Excellence Award were presented by the chief minister to Dr Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, GAVI Alliance, Geneva and Mr Kevin Ali, President, Emerging Markets, Merck, USA for their exemplary work in the area of innovation and research.

About 250 companies from across 35 countries are taking part in the BioAsia-12 event where they will be interacting with each other and involved in discussions over optimizing opportunities especially in the field of vaccine development and other related pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...es/961745.html

Hyderabad, Feb 10 (PTI) Shantha Biotech is pinning hopes on orders from international organisations for its flagship pentavalent vaccine which is currently undergoing clinical trials. The city-based company was bought by French vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur in July 2009. Shantha Biotech's plant capacity, currently pegged at 500 million doses per annum, will be increased to one billion by 2015, the company's Managing Director & CEO, Harish V Iyer, said today. "We are hardly utilising our production facility, which was built to meet specific requirements of UNICEF and other agencies. Once we get the WHO pre-qualification, the target is to expand to more than a billion doses," Iyer said on the sidelines of a biotech conference here. Shan5 ,a five-in-one vaccine to protect infants against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis-B and a bacterium causing pneumonia and meningitis, is currently undergoing the phase I trials and expected to hit the market by the end of 2013, he said. According to Iyer, the company is also in the process of developing a rotavirus vaccine. Over 1,00,000 children die each year due to rotavirus infection in India, while globally it's about 500,000. Shantha is also working, along with International Vaccine Institute, on a cholera vaccine, he added. "Once we have Shan5 and these products on track, we will go ahead with more vaccines for diseases such as measles, rabies and hepatitis-A. Also, we hope to introduce IPV (Inactivated Polio Vaccine) and a hexavalent vaccine too is in the pipeline," Iyer explained. PTI GDK RSY

[rockystone]

National DNA training academy to come up in Hyderabad

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...demy-come.html

In a bid to provide a major boost to forensic science, the ''city of pearls'' is gearing up to accommodate an academy which will deal in training the young minds on the usage of DNA, which has proved to be crucial in decoding many mysteries.

The Hyderabad-based DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), an autonomous scientific institute funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), has proposed setting up of a national academy to encourage widespread application of DNA fingerprinting methods in solving the criminal cases.

“The proposed Academy, in consultation with the Union Home Ministry and DBT, will train post-graduate science students in DNA profiling and analysis as there is a huge requirement for DNA analysis in the country,” CDFD Director J Gowrishankar said.
This technique now needs to be scaled up for widespread use and the required manpower needs to be created.

There is a requirement for at least 1,000 DNA examiners in the country while, at present, there are only 25 examiners, each of them handling about 100 cases annually.
The academy will offer short-term capsules for a six-week period and a one-year diploma course in DNA analysis.

It will also offer a two-year post-graduation programme in DNA technology.
There are also plans to get a deemed university status for the academy.

Procedural delay

Though the CDFD had submitted the proposal to the Centre long back, there has been a procedural delay in setting up the academy.

The main reason is the dilemma over whether the cadre of the proposed academy should be placed under the Home Ministry or the Ministry of Science and Technology.

However, the need for improving the efficiency in forensic investigations and adoption of new technologies has been recognised by the authorities. The CDFD officials hope that the academy would take final shape soon.

According to the official figures of the National Crime Records Bureau, the total number of violent crimes in the country in 2010, including murders, rapes and kidnaps, were 2,41,986, of which, only 27 per cent of the guilty were convicted.
In this scenario, the DNA profiling provides a fool-proof scientific method in crime detection.

Its results are beyond any doubt, when compared to other forensic tools like ballistic, chemical analysis and toxicology.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ind...pacity/464495/

Shantha Biotech, part of French pharmaceutical major Sanofi, is planning to ramp up its production capacity at the Hyderabad facility, which is touted as Asia’s biggest.

“Sanofi has earmarked $300 million to establish a new vaccine manufacturing unit in India over the next three years, as well as for augmenting capacities at the existing facility. We (Shantha) will be investing in training people on technical and quality aspects, improving quality standards, upgrading infrastructure etc,” said Harish V Iyer, managing director and chief executive officer of Shantha Biotech.

Sanofi had acquired a controlling stake in Shantha in July 2009, in a deal that had valued the Indian company at $783 million.
The drug maker is expected to introduce the rotavirus vaccine to the market by 2015. “Every year. Rotavirus kills around 100,000 infants in India, and 500,000 globally. The rotavirus vaccine, developed by Shantha, is in an early stage of clinical trials,” Iyer said.

The company is also planning to relaunch the pentavalent Shan5 vaccine by the end of 2013. Sanofi had completely stopped producing Shan5 after the World Health Organisation (WHO) delisted the vaccine from prequalification, based on complaints that a white sediment was found sticking to the vials. However, WHO stated that there were no side-effects reported from this aberration.

“We have made some changes in the manufacturing process of pentavalent Shan5 vaccine. It is the same pentavalent with changes in composition,” he said.

[ygvjs2000]

Nice to hear. the Genome valley is getting brighter.

Originally Posted by Gudavalli

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ind...pacity/464495/

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/zebrafish...18-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: These are one of the most commonly found fish in the local lakes of Hyderabad. Called as ‘chintaaku pariga’ in Telugu, they are just like any other fresh water fish and popular too as an aquarium fish.
But what many do not know is that this Zebrafish shares almost all the genes with human beings in a DNA sequence, thus making it an almost perfect vertebrate model organism for laboratory purposes. Experiments on the fish have proved to be very effective and efficient in studying the possible effects of any drug on human beings. From embryos to the 1.5-inch long adult fish, these are used in research relating to various diseases including cancer, diabetes etc and drug development for the same.
These small transparent fish with stripes are very useful when it comes to drug development, acknowledges Dr Kiranam Chatti, a senior research scientist at the Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad. According to him, Zebrafish embryos are living organisms with several of the organs and processes present in humans.
The embryos are small, transparent, and available in large numbers, which provides the added advantage over other animal models like rats, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, and dogs, for studying the safety and effectiveness of drugs.
Zebrafish embryos are treated with drugs and their effects on organ functions and development can be observed under a microscope.
Dr Pushkar Kulkarni, an ILS scientist, has established sophisticated technology to obtain electrocardiograms (ECG) from Zebrafish to study and evaluate cardiovascular effects of drugs. “A major advantage with Zebrafish is that testing of a large number of drugs can be performed early in the process, so that risky drug candidates can be identified and rejected early and only effective ones are used for further studies,” says Dr Chatti.
Zebrafish in Dr Chatti’s labs are also genetically altered to create ‘disease models’, which imitate human diseases like cancer, diabetes and inflammation, and thus help us better understand diseases as well as develop therapies.
So how easy or difficult is it to maintain one such lab? According to Dr Chatti, it is quite simple and easy to maintain.
“We have a custom-made recirculation system with several interconnected tanks and a water pump so that the water does not remain static. The fish are provided with high quality live brine shrimp as food, and allowed to breed while the fertilized eggs are collected separately,” explains Dr Chatti. He says many interesting aspects of embryogenesis can be observed within the first five days of development- from the time the eggs are fertilized to the time when small fish begin to feed by themselves. “For the purpose of pharmacology, embryos up to a week old can be used to study the effects of drugs, apart from adult fish,” points out Dr Chatti.
The Institute of Life Sciences in Hyderabad is one of the very few institutes in India which use Zebrafish for research in pharmacology and drug development.
The institute also lets its researchers establish their own companies a few little known facts
* Zebrafish shares almost all the genes with human beings in a DNA sequence, thus making it an almost perfect vertebrate model organism for laboratory purposes * A major advantage with Zebrafish is that testing of a large number of drugs can be performed early in the process, so that risky drug candidates can be identified and rejected early and only effective ones are used for further studies * Institute of Life Sciences in Hyderabad is one of the very few institutes in India which use Zebrafish for research

[ygvjs2000]

Fidelity Growth Partners invests Rs 200 cr in Aptuit Laurus
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...us/963388.html

Mumbai, Feb 14 (PTI) Fidelity Growth Partners India, the India-focused private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide, has invested around Rs 200 crore in Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, Aptuit Laurus. The Hyderabad-based pharma company manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for anti-retroviral (HIV-AIDS), oncology, nutraceutical and several other products with a customer base spanning in India and abroad. The company also has a growing contract research and manufacturing business offering, which works with several global pharma companies, the release said. "In a short span of time, Laurus has established global leadership positions in its key product offerings, built world-class infrastructure and serves a top-tier customer base. The company continues to drive innovation in its strong product pipeline of difficult-to-make molecules, which, we believe will help it build a long-term defensible business," Senior Managing Director at FIL Capital Advisors (India), Raj Dugar said. However, the company didn't disclose the stake it will get in the phrma company after the announced investment. Referring to this equity investment, Chief Executive Officer of Laurus, Chava Satyanarayana said," Laurus has built a strong reputation in product development and manufacturing and a track record of high-quality products to its customers. We are glad to partner with FGPI in this phase of our growth, where, we will seek to continue the thurst on innovation and manufacturing excellence in offering cost effective products and services." This is the tenth investment of the PE arm of Fidelity since 2008, which has earlier invested in Coastal Projects, telecom power system manufacturer- VMC, logistics and retail analytics firm Manthan Software among others.

[rockystone]

Dr Reddy plans Rs 500-crore capital expenditure in FY 12-13

http://www.hindustantimes.com/busine...e1-811437.aspx

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, India's second largest drug-maker, is planning to invest around $100 million (around Rs 500 crore) as capital expenditure in the next financial year (2012-13) to expand its manufacturing capacity for meeting the increasing demand of pharmaceuticals


products.
"Though it is very early to give exact figures, we expect capital expenditure for the next financial year (2012-13) to be around $100 million," said K Anji Reddy, chairman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories. "Significant portion of this investment will be in constructing manufacturing facilities."

The company is setting up a formulation manufacturing plant in Vizag and Biologics manufacturing facility in Hyderabad. Currently, the drug maker has 18 manufacturing facilities of which 14 are in India and rest are outside.

Of the total 18 manufacturing facilities, 9 are of formulations, 8 for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and one for biologics. The company's capital expenditure stood at Rs 465 crore during the first nine months of current financial year and the management expects it to be in the range of $100 million-$150 million (Rs 500-750 crore) for the full year.

"We had said in the beginning of the current fiscal year (2011-12) that roughly we will spend $100-150 million as capital expenditure and in the first nine months of the current fiscal we have spent $94 million," said Reddy. "It will be in the expected range."

Hyderabad-based drug-maker, which posted net profit of Rs 513 crore at the end of December 2011, has presence in gastro-intestinal, cardiovascular, diabetology, oncology, pain management, anti-infective and pediatrics.

Major markets of the company include India, US, Russia and CIS (Commonwealth Independent States), Germany, UK, Venezuela, South Africa, Romania, and New Zealand.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/11895715.cms

HYDERABAD: Paucity of funding for the Indian biotechnology sector for expanding its operations forces it to look towards mergers and acquisitions, according to Yes Bank.

The Indian biotechnology sector is not just finding it difficult to raise funds from the public, but also from the private equity sector as well, Yes Bank said in its report on biotech industry, titled 'Indian Biotechnology Ecosystem- an Investment Perspective'.

"Further, the investments, which are made, will be in several tranches tied to milestone payments and not in lump-sum, as was wont to be the case earlier. However, Yes Bank expects the M & A activity in the sector to see a significant rise, as small niche companies exhaust their cash surpluses and start exploring new models for restructuring their business, the report said.

Most investors are unwilling to invest in Life Science companies' R & D activities, as they prefer funding companies, whose product and market are clearly identified, forcing Life Science entrepreneurs to be unable to raise sufficient funds for basic R & D through equity investments, it says.

"The current conservative investor mindset is resulting in Indian investors looking to fund matured companies. Most of the deals done over the last few years have been for manufacturers of generic drugs or contract manufacturers, as these are perceived as fairly low-risk businesses," it further said.

The Bank opined that a majority of the IPOs will be from the pharmaceutical sector, as most companies in the biotech and medical devices sectors in India are still at a nascent stage as the recent years have not been successful for Life sciences IPOs owing to the current weak market conditions and global economic cues.

The situation has led to a huge gap between the companies' expected valuations and those arrived at by the investor community.

Within the Life Sciences Industry, Biotechnology has been identified as a key area of growth with the Global biotechnology market predicted to surpass $ 320 billion by 2015.

The global Biotech industry is lead by US, followed by advanced European countries. Developing countries such as India and China are soon emerging as major Biotechnology markets, according to the report.

Indian Biotech market has tripled over the last five years, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 20 per cent to achieve a market size of $ 8 billion by 2015.

The global biotech market for 2010 is around $ 85 billion and is expected to reach $ 320 billion by 2015. There has been a large gap between the funding available for this sector and the funding required by the players to achieve their full potential, it said.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=67573&sid=2

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced the opening of its first research and development (R&D) centre in India. The Covidien India Engineering Centre (CIEC) is a 40,000 square-foot facility located in DLF Cybercity Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Hyderabad. It plans to expand its facility based in the SEZ, which is currently under construction further in the near future.

In the last five years, Covidien had more than doubled its R&D investments and launched more than 100 new products. Over the next few years, the Company plans to invest five to six per cent of its sales to R&D activities. The CIEC will provide state-of-the-art engineering services to Covidien’s R&D organisation in the areas of design, hardware, software and testing, while developing a footprint for future product development.

The CIEC provides a range of engineering services for the company’s medical products business and eventually plans to employ upto 350 staff in the future. Randel Frazier, vice president R&D, emerging markets, said, “Innovation is at the heart of everything Covidien does. As a company we devote significant resources to invent and develop technology that physicians utilise to improve patient outcomes. Our company is expanding our R&D capabilities worldwide and this new facility in India is playing an integral role in our global strategy.”

Robert Frechette, vice president, Engineering Services, Covidien said, “India has a strong base of highly-talented engineers and bringing this talent into Covidien’s organisation is critical for our continued growth. By establishing our presence in Hyderabad, we are expanding Covidien’s R&D capabilities as well as enhancing the city’s reputation as a hub for life sciences.”

Further he added that their new facility is up and running with more than 30 engineers and staff involved in Covidien’s global R&D efforts.

Covidien has an important and growing commercial presence in India with offices based in Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Chennai. The company has nearly 200 employees in its commercial organisation with a strong network of distributors across the country.

According to Arjun Sarker, managing director, Indian Subcontinent, Covidien, “With a fast-growing economy, the demand for healthcare in India is growing at a rapid pace. Thus the establishment of this R&D facility will help expand Covidien’s presence and commitment to India.”

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/11933883.cms

HYDERABAD: Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharma company, will invest heavily into oncology research and is looking for Indian companies who could partner with the pharmaceutical giant in treating cancer patients, a senior Pfizer research head said.

The company has identified oncology as the therapeutic segment for research in the emerging markets such as China and India as cancer is one of the key causes of premature deaths.

Dr Richard Cornell, Vice President, Asia Research, Pfizer, said: "Oncology is where there is a massive medical need and there is a significant breakthrough in science. Indian companies are very strong in bio-chemistry and so we are looking for partners here."

However, he refused to specify how much they would invest in oncology research.

The company recently got the approval for Xalkori, a lung cancer drug that may help the New York-based company to offset $11 billion in revenue at risk to generic copies of the best-selling Lipitor cholesterol pill.

According to IMS data, since 2003, Pfizer has increased its number of oncology R&D projects by 400% and dedicated more than 20% of its overall budget to oncology. The company has more than 200 ongoing or planned, sponsored, oncology clinical studies.

Pfizer, unlike many Big Pharma companies is not moving away from primary care or metabolic segments. It will continue to focus on both primary care and speciality care segments for developing new products. Globally, pharma companies are making a paradigm shift in terms of R&D and their outlook towards emerging markets.

In terms of research, they are allocating more of their money in the speciality segments such as oncology and focussing on growing in countries with higher population in the East Asia.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/...cle2888394.ece

The segment, however, is facing problems related to quality parameters as well as infrastructure

From the day it played host to the first biotech company to produce a locally-developed recombinant DNA-derived healthcare product in 1997 -- Hepatitis B vaccine -- Andhra Pradesh, known as the pharmaceutical hub of the country, has come a long way to become the biopharmaceutical capital of India.

The fledgling segment, however, is facing several problems related to quality parameters as well as infrastructure that would accelerate its growth. While the State is reckoned as the pioneer of the biotechnology industry setting up the Genome Valley, housing laboratories of several industry majors, it is also home to some unwelcome developments like suspension of procurement of certain vaccines by the World Health Organisation.

The Genome Valley cluster is currently housing about 200 biotech research, training and manufacturing units supported by world-class infrastructure and another 200 units are spread in different parts of the State. A couple of lakhs square feet area in the Genome Valley is exclusively dedicated for the laboratory space.

The flip side, however, is suspension of procurement of Revac B, the hepatitis B vaccine, manufactured by Bharat Biotech by the WHO after a site inspection. The procurement was suspended as certain deficiencies were found in manufacturing systems and quality management practices. Another pentavalent vaccine rolled out by Biotech major, Shantha Biotech, was recalled earlier as there were certain lacunae in the good manufacturing practices.

Coupled with these are the problems relating to power and roads for accessing the industry and branding of biotechnology sector along with the highly polluting pharmaceutical companies.

The entrepreneurs made no secret of their disappointment when they raised the issues in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy during the BioAsia 2012 that was held here last week.

A home to leading names like Shantha Biotech, Bharat Bio and GVK Biosciences, the State made impressive strides in another area, though indirectly related, enabling setting up of bio-informatics, using IT as tool for designing and development of new molecules. There is, however, a gap in giving fillip to allied sectors like bio-industrial and bio-services.

Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna M. Ella said the State witnessed investments close to US $ 500 million (Rs. 2,500 crore) and is all set to grow six-fold in the next five years. “Industry slow down has nothing do with political problems as the State's policies have continuity irrespective of change of governments,” he noted.

Another advantage AP has for the growth of biotechnology industry is the support it gets from numerous research institutions such as the prestigious Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), ICRISAT, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) and others which provide access to high-level talent to industry and teaching institutions.

Notwithstanding this progress, the government should continue to play a significant role in the advancement of this high-tech and capital-intensive industry. In particular, the State Government can help the industry by ensuring access to efficient infrastructure to make it strong and viable player in the global arena”, says Harish V. Iyer, Managing Director of Shantha Biotech.

The industry, however, has several unfulfilled demands like incentives to biotech companies setting up their shop in the State, encouragement to those opting for research and development (given the fact that the market is worth over US $ 15 billion) and facilitating faster collaboration between the companies, relaxing some regulations.

The State, no doubt, has huge human resource potential, but when it comes to fields like biotechnology which involve cutting edge research, the youth need to be trained in practical skills, says GVK Biosciences president Manni Kantipudi.