Coinciding with the glittering opening of BioAsia 2020, the 17th in the annual series of Life Sciences and Biotechnology convention on Monday, was commissioning of a facility each of contract research organisation Syngene International and pharma company Biological E (BE) in Genome Valley.
The two facilities were inaugurated by Industries and IT Minister K.T.Rama Rao earlier in the day. He also mentioned about them in his speech at the BioAsia inaugural later, pointing to how Hyderabad was attracting more investments in the Life Sciences space.
Stating that Syngene’s decision would further consolidate Hyderabad’s position as a global R&D hub, the Minister said the first phase of the company facility in Genome Valley has been built with an investment of ₹170 crore.
Syngene managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said it was the first Syngene facility in Hyderabad and there were plans to invest more. It will be fully commissioned by the end of this year and cover a total of 94,000 sq ft and house around 270 scientists. Initially, the company will offer Discovery Chemistry services from Hyderabad. In the next phase, other research services will move to this centre providing research to the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.
On the Biological E’s vaccine facility, Mr.Rao said its foundation was laid during BioAsia in 2017.
Commercial production
In a statement, Biological E Managing Director Mahima Datla said the company has invested around ₹300 crore on the plant, located on about 29 acres and ready for commercial production. The plant would generate employment opportunities for around 1,000 people. “This new facility will help our existing vaccines plant enhance the production and manufacture new products, which are in the pipeline,’’ she said.
Mr.Rao also unveiled a new Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV). BE said it received authorisation from the health regulatory authorities of India recently to license and market a new Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine.
This vaccine has been developed in partnership with the GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health, Italy, which first developed the asset and transferred it to BE in 2013. Subsequent developmental work on the vaccine was done by BE, including manufacturing process optimisation and scale up, pre-clinical studies and full clinical trials in India. This vaccine will be manufactured in BE’s GMP manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and could be commercially available within three months.
