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April 28, 2001
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Money > Business Headlines > Report April 28, 2001 |
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Ranbaxy to seek board nod for US R&D baseBhupesh Bhandari Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has decided to seek the approval of the company's board of directors to set up a research & development base in the US. "The senior management feels that a laboratory in the US is a must for new drug discovery. We plan to go to the board soon for its approval," Ranbaxy president (research & development), J M Khanna, said. According to Khanna, the R&D laboratory will be up and running by 2002. "Most of the R&D in the world in the area of new drug discovery is happening in the US. You can't afford not to be there," Khanna said. Ranbaxy has been mulling an R&D base in the US for some time now. The process has now gathered pace. Khanna will be visiting the US soon to scout for opportunities. "Almost 12 per cent of the scientific community in the US is made up of Indians. And most of them do not want to come back. This is a big advantage for us," Khanna said. To this effect, Ranbaxy is looking at three options: use an incubator facility, acquire an equity stake in an existing research outfit and set up its own greenfield R&D operations. According to Khanna, the third option is the least preferred of the three. Between the first two, Ranbaxy is still weighing the pros and cons of each. According to Khanna, Ranbaxy is in talks with some R&D laboratories in the US for a possible joint venture, though nothing has been firmed up as yet. But, using an incubator facility, according to Khanna, is a more cost-effective option. "There are no fixed costs; you just have to take up some facility on lease. And you can leave it when you want," Khanna said. Ranbaxy has identified five areas for its R&D efforts: respiratory, urology, cardiovascular, cancer and infections. In the area of novel drug delivery system, there are two or three products in the pipeline, according to Khanna. At least one of them, either in cardiovascular or an anti-infective, will be launched later in the year, Khanna added. Ranbaxy's existing R&D facility is at Gurgaon near Delhi. Powered by YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
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