Abbott to Open Innovation Centre in India
Mumbai centre to develop new drug
formulations that will be exported to 30 countries
Global drug maker Abbott will bolster its
branded generics business with a new innovation and development centre in
India. Mike
Warmuth, executive vice president of Abbott's established pharmaceuticals
division, said the proposed innovation hub in Mumbai will help
develop new drug formulations, new indications, dosing, packaging and other
differentiated offerings which will be shipped to at least 30 countries.
Warmuth did not disclose how much money the
company will pump into the proposed facility but said the investment will
result in doubling of its local scientific manpower. The centre will also have
a pilot scale plant, he said. “We are
investing in innovation and scale and we are doing it in areas where people
have needs. It is not about getting sales for the sake of getting bigger,”
Warmuth, who is based in Basel, Switzerland, told ET on his second trip to
India in the last two weeks.
Abbott, which clocked $3.7 billion in sales
last year, has innovation and development centres in Chile and Columbia for the
regional needs in Latin America, and one in Russia. The proposed Indian hub is
expected to become its biggest centre over the next few years.
The drugs-to-devices giant drew over a fifth
or $850 million ( `5,673 crore) of its global branded generics business from
India in 2015.Warmuth described India as a “cornerstone of success“, making
specific reference to how it has helped Abbott gain scientific edge in its
other countries of operation. The executive said he expects the India business
to outperform the market consistently, as in the case of its other 15 priority
markets which together contribute 75% of total sales. “We do the heavy lifting, providing products at a rate that is affordable
and not price gouging” Warmuth said.
He said his company will explore about 20 to
30 products that are likely to come off-patent in the near future. Beyond that,
Warmuth said, part of his “model” includes in-licensing drugs that may include
biosimilars (a biosimilar drug is a copy of a complex biotech drug). It exists
in the “realm of the possibility” but not necessarily of a big scale in India,
he said.
Abbott is uniquely positioned in the global
branded generics business. It carved out the business and separated AbbVie, its
innovation products business. Abbot has been among the most aggressive
investors in India. Last year, in one of the biggest deals in the real estate
space, it acquired property in Mumbai's business district Bandra Kurla Complex
for `1,479 crore.
The drug maker had leapfrogged to the No 1
position in India after it snapped up Piramal Healthcare's prescriptions
business for $3.7 billion in 2010. Last year, Abbott slipped to No 2 with Sun
Pharma acquiring Ranbaxy. On the regulatory and economic environment in India,
Warmuth said regulators are trying to do the right things. He, however,
maintained it would be good to see the environment a little more stable when
making investments. “Overall, that does
not really change our view on the market itself,” Warmuth said.
Comments
Post a Comment