The Hindu Business Line : Tatas open pharma R&D centre in Bangalore

New centre: Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, flanked by Dr Rashmi Barbhaiya (left), Managing Director and CEO, Advinus, and Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons, at the inauguration of Advinus Head Office and Development Centre in Bangalore on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Bangalore, Nov. 29 The Tata Group has so far put in Rs 200 crore into its year-old pharma R&D venture, Advinus Therapeutics Ltd.

The Tata Sons Chairman, Mr Ratan Tata, formally inaugurated the 8-acre Bangalore drug development campus, and said the group, the majority promoter, had a long-term commitment to the company.

The Tatas are the only institutional investors in the venture with three technocrats, led by Dr Rashmi Barbhaiya, CEO, Advinus.

“Our commitment is a long-term one, to support and to give the funds it needs and to give the experience we can bring to add value and to help bring the visibility it requires,” Mr Tata said. Advinus offers total drug discovery services along with its smaller discovery centre at Pune.

At a news conference earlier, Dr Barbhaiya said the contract research business driven from Bangalore had already broken even and the company had the potential to become a visible earning pie in the Tata set-up.

Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons and Advinus Chairman, said the Tata Group had filled its absence in the pharma space through this unique association with technocrats.

“Advinus is a very visible example of the Tata Group’s commitment to promote innovation-led industries,” he said. The company focuses on diabetes, obesity, arthritis, asthma, inflammation and neglected third-world diseases. As part of its collaborative strategy in global pharma, agro and biotech segments, the 350-strong entity has already tied up contracts with Merck and the Geneva-based DNDi.

More Stories on : Research & Development | Pharmaceuticals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page