Sun Pharma to commission Vadodara centre on Dec 14

The Rs 1,100 crore Sun Pharmaceuticals will commission its research and development (R&D) centre in Vadodara on December 14.

The facility, developed at an investment of around Rs 70 crore, would be an extension of the Sun Pharma Advance Research Centre (SPARC).

The new facility will house laboratories for a team of 325 scientists and the centre would be the hub of Sun Pharma's research in the discovery of new molecule. The centre would be inaugurated by the President of India, A P J Abdul Kalam, on Tuesday.

Sun Pharma aims to add 125 more research scientists in the next one year.

Commenting on the future plans for SPARC, the managing director of Sun Pharma, Shailesh Desai said: "We have invested around Rs 70 crore in SPARC and will invest another Rs 50 crore in the near future. We will also strengthen our research team by adding over 100 research scientists in the new research facility. Sun Pharma is comfortable in attracting talented research personnel to work at Vadodara."

Sun Pharma has been investing about four per cent of its turnover in research and development (R&D) since 1993 and there are indications that with the open market concept coming into force from January 2005, the company, like most of the Indian pharmaceutical majors, would hike its investment in R&D in the next few years.

According to Desai, the facilities at SPARC have been created in the areas of process chemistry, dosage form development including novel drug delivery systems.

"Upcoming laboratories have been built to house departments that have a role to play in the development of a new compound. Modern and exhaustively equipped lab areas in biological/analytical development include areas in pharmacokinetics, tissue culture and screening," he said.

In the last 10 years Sun Pharma has pumped in about Rs 300 crore in various R&D-related activities.

Sun Pharma has one molecule in clinical trials in Europe, which is enroute to becoming a drug. The company has received 33 patents in the fields of both drug discovery and reverse engineering projects.

At present Sun Pharma is awaiting for 331 filings to be approved.

"The initiatives taken for R&D has helped in increasing our turnover from Rs 32 crore in 1993 to Rs 1,124 crore in 2004," said Desai.

Sun Pharma's US subsidiary Caraco Pharm Labs recently reported a nine-month sales of $ 43.7 millon and free cash of $16.9 million.

The centre would be used as a major tool for developing new drugs for exports as the company has been working on its position in the US market through its US-based subsidiary.

On November 27 the company had completed the allotment of a $275 million foreign currency convertible bonds.