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Our Bureau

GOING GLOBAL: (From left) The Merieux Alliance Chairman, Mr Alain Merieux; the newly-appointed Executive Chairman, Mr Georges Hibon; and the Managing Director of Shantha Biotechnics, Dr Varaprasad Reddy, at a press meet in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — Mohammed Yousuf

Hyderabad , Nov 29

Alliance Merieux, the French bio-industry major that recently picked up 60 per cent in the Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics, has decided to make Hyderabad its global hub for vaccine development.

The 110-year-old Merieux Group from Lyon, France, will leverage the R&D and manufacturing base of Shantha Biotechnics to broadbase its range of vaccines for the Asian markets.

To begin with, it will invest Rs 50 crore in a new suite that will increase the hepatitis B manufacturing capacity.

Mr Alain Merieux, Group Chairman, said: "We will help grow Shantha globally, support it by bringing synergies from its other companies and make it the hub for vaccines and recombinant proteins work."

The Group has bioMerieux, based in France; Silliker, in Chicago; Transgene in France and Advanced BioSciences Laboratories (ABL) in Washington. Shantha Biotechnics is the fifth in its fold.

Mr Merieux said that the company picked up 60 per cent stake from high net worth individuals from Oman and other West Asian countries, but refused to divulge the size of deal, stating that it was a private deal.

Mr K.I. Varaprasada Reddy, founder and Managing Director of Shantha Biotechnics, who hold his 17 per cent equity and continues to be Managing Director, has joined the Merieux Alliance Board.

He said that the Hyderabad hub would have a string of eight manufacturing suites in Hyderabad.

On its US-based subsidiary, Shantha West, Mr Reddy said that as part of Merieux Alliance it will focus on monoclonal antibodies and co-operate with other group companies with similar research interest.

Shantha Biotechnics will continue its work in developing combination and recombinant vaccines, he told newspersons.

The Alliance Merieux board, which met today, also evinced interest in setting up a development centre in the near future.

The State Government has offered land for the purpose.

Mr Georges Hibon was appointed the new Executive Chairman of Shantha Biotechnics.

Shantha Biotechnics, which clocked turnover of Rs 90 crore at the end of 2005-06, hopes to touch Rs 120 crore by the end of the current fiscal, Mr Reddy said.

More Stories on : Research & Development | Bio-tech & Genetics | Pharmaceuticals

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Shantha to be global vaccine hub for Alliance Merieux

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