The Hindu Business Line : Dr Lal PathLabs plans laboratory for clinical research

NEW FACILITY: Dr Arvind Lal (left), Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Lal PathLabs, with Dr Om Manchanda, Chief Operating Officer, at a press confernece in Mumbai on Thursday. - Paul Noronha

Mumbai April 19 Medical diagnostics company, Dr Lal PathLabs, is setting up a dedicated laboratory facility to focus on clinical research at its headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana.

With a network of 25 pathology labs and 450 collection centres across the country, Dr Lal's has been doing the laboratory work in clinical trials for drug companies for over 15 years, said Dr Arvind Lal, Chairman and Managing Director of the company. The company has invested about $1 million in the laboratory, operationalised a month ago.

The company also has plans for a non-clinical-trial central lab at Rohini in North Delhi in which it plans to invest about $5 million to $6 million, he said. This lab will have 300 people and is expected to be operational in 2008.

The diagnostics company is the oldest path-lab in the country, he said and screens about 6,500 patients every day. The company targets 8,000 patients per day, this year, he added.

The funds to support the capacity expansion would be raised through internal accruals, he said. The diagnostics company has offloaded 26 per cent equity to Sequoia Capital (erstwhile WestBridge Capital) in 2005.

The company had looked at labs to grow through acquisition, but there was a dearth of quality labs, he said. The diagnostics company has revenues of about Rs 100 crore and expects clinical research to bring in Rs 15 crore over the next two to three years, the company top-brass said. The company was not actively looking to set up overseas labs, he indicated, adding that India would be the company's priority focus. The company is looking to set up 50 labs by 2010.

Dr Om Manchanda, Chief Operating Officer with Dr Lal's, said that the company was at present doing pathology work for about 15 clinical trials.

Mr Nitin Jain, Dr Lal's Head - International Business and Clinical Research, said that eight to nine trials would be added next month.

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