Indian firm takes over German biologics plant

India just keeps coming...

An Indian firm has taken over the contract biologics manufacturing business of German corporation Siegfried.

The deal is a further sign of the ambition of Indian firms to break into the burgeoning biopharmaceuticals market, which was identified as a key target growth area for India at the recent Interphex show in Mumbai, and is tipped to generate $5bn (€3.5bn) in revenue in the country by 2010, up from its current figure of $1.5bn.

India's Avesta Biotherapeutics and Research is now the new owner of Berlin-based Siegfried Biologics and its 50 employees, gaining a capability in developing biologics, from cell line generation, upstream process development, through to manufacturing.

Avesta plans to use the facility to make an entry into the world of making good manufacturing practice (GMP)-compliant biopharmaceuticals for the regulated US and European markets.

However, the Bangalore-based firm said it will initially concentrate on manufacturing biologics for the semi-regulated markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, where small molecule drugs prevail in the market.

link to full article