Johnson and Johnson, one of the largest drug makers in the world, is in discussions with Indian drug companies and academic institutions for tie-ups in drug discovery research and opening a late stage drug development centre in Mumbai which will act as one of the key drug research centres for J&J worldwide.
“We follow a decentralised approach which will help faster time to market and information sharing as India represents a rich source of collaborative possibility”, said Paul Stoffels, global head, pharmaceutical R&D of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. He noted that J&J had already entered into a deal with the Tatas-funded Advinus Therapeutics of Bangalore to research certain drug targets.
The late-phase new chemical entity (NCE) Analytical and Pharmaceutical Development Center (APDC) at Mulund in Mumbai, will conduct late phase drug development services in coordination with J&J’s Asia Pacific centre in Shanghai which will do early stage development. J&J’s future drug research and development would be centered in three clusters in the US, Europe and in India and China, said Robert J Sheroff, president of Global Pharmaceutical Supply Group of J&J.
APDC will initially develop potential new treatment for tuberculosis, a late-stage HIV compound and a number of products designed to treat multi-drug-resistant bacteria. At a later stage, the Mumbai centre will be scaled up to be a part of all drug development activities of J&J.
The centre, which will employ close to 300 scientists and set up with an investment of close to $9 million, will be a hub for analytical and pharmaceutical formulation development processes.
