In a first of its kind move by a global diagnostics outfit, Roche Diagnostics -- the diagnostics arm of the Swiss pharma major Roche -- is planning to set up a research and development centre in India.
The company plans to spend around Rs 77.5 crore (Swiss franc 20 million) for the initiative. The centre is being set up to develop novel diagnostic solutions for communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever, etc.
The company -- a world leader in diagnostics with a wide range of products -- is looking at the country as an important market for diagnostics.
The outfit, which had a marketing collaboration with Nicholas Piramal for its entire range of diagnostic products and kits snapped the tie and entered the market directly in January this year.
Sanjeev Johar, managing director, Roche Diagnostics India, said that the board of the Swiss parent has already approved the proposal.
"The Indian team is at present identifying a suitable local partner for the initial infrastructure and primary research data on diseases prevailing in India," he said.
"We are talking to leading R&D institutions in both public and private sectors which have specialised in communicable diseases prevailing in India. We expect to spot the partner in a couple of months. The company would spend S Fr 5-6 million for R&D on each disease project," Johar said.
Roche Diagnostics, which spends around 9 per cent of its global sales on R&D, has a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories worldwide.
The company's global sales during 2003-04 was S Fr 7.8 billion. The Indian company recorded a total revenue of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) last year.
Headquartered in Basel, Roche is one of the world's leading research-intensive healthcare groups. The multinational healthcare company has a presence in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with large number of partners.
