Evonik plans expansion of Mumbai R&D

The Germany-based Evonik Industries AG, the third largest German chemical and specialty chemical manufacturer, is planning to expand its research and development centre in Mumbai.

The Mumbai R&D Centre, started five years ago, will house the offices for the regional management of the group's 11 business units active on the Indian subcontinent, which includes countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

"By making this move, we are addressing the rapid growth of the Indian pharmaceuticals market, from which our business has profited immensely in the past years," said Dr. Alfred Oberholz, member of Evonik Industries AG's Executive Board.

A global leader in specialty chemical business, Evonik Industries currently employs 350 people in India, who generate more than ¤100 million in sales revenues.

Evonik's Chemicals Business Area has a total of 35 research and development centers worldwide.

The Essen based Evonik was formed in 2001 with the merger of Degussa-Hüls AG with SKW Trostberg AG. Evonik has a turnover of over 11 billion EUROS.

A company press release said the Mumbai R&D center, which also accommodates the technical service and marketing departments of pharma polymers, a business line of the Specialty Acrylics Business Unit of Evonik, has become one of the key global development centres for its Eudragit brand polymers business.

In the recent years, Evonik doubled the laboratory space for pharma polymers, from about 600 to 1,200 square meters at the Mumbai unit.

The Centre will develop Eudragit branded formulations and drug delivery technologies for customers the world over. Eudragit, a neutral-tasting coating, ensures that the active ingredients of drugs are released in the human body at the right place and at the right time, said the release.