The Hindu Business Line : Actavis plans API research facility in Bangalore

The new R&D centre will have an investment of "a decent size" and be unveiled over the next few months, senior company officials in India confirmed. It will be to develop APIs (active pharma ingredient or the core medicine) of drugs going off patent.

India is already a major API source for Actavis, they said. The next step would be acquisition of a manufacturing facility for APIs or formulations (finished products), for which the search is on. Actavis, which started its presence in the country a year ago has declared that India figures prominently in its plans. Last year, it invested $20 million (nearly Rs 90 crore) to buy contract research organisation Lotus Labs. It ramped it up with a $3-4 million investment in a new, 3,000-sq.ft Lotus facility, which was opened on Thursday.

Stability studies

Lotus is also diversifying into the vast business of stability studies, initially for the parent. It currently does biostudies or comparisons with benchmark vaccines, cardiovascular, neurology and cancer drugs.

A company statement quoted Mr Stefan Jokull Sveinsson, Chief Executive of Actavis' R&D, who was in the city, as saying, "Actavis has plans for further expansion by opening a centre (at Lotus) for stability studies which will provide additional support for the group's operations in Europe and the US.

The company also plans to use Lotus Labs' old premises for other activities, such as development of APIs."

The parent is now the world's fifth largest generics company after it made over a dozen acquisitions globally during just 2004 and 2005 - including the generics business of Alpharma Inc for $810 million and Amide Pharma for $600 million.

Actavis currently has tie-ups with three domestic companies: Emcure of Pune for contract manufacturing its products for the US market; Orchid Chemicals and Shasun Chemicals, both of Chennai, to manufacture and develop pharmaceuticals for it.

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