Drug firm MSD India, the fully-owned subsidiary of US-based Merck & Co, is planning set up a research and development (R&D) centre in India in joint venture with UK-based Wellcome Laboratories

The centre — MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories —will be a 50:50 joint venture and come up with a total investment of $130 million (Rs 586 crore). Of this, MSD would invest $65 million. It would to develop affordable vaccines for the developing countries.

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On Tuesday, the company launched RotaTeq, a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, which helps in preventing rota-virus gastroenteritis, a leading cause of diarrhoea among young children. So far, it has distributed 44 million drops worldwide. It is available at Rs 900 per drop for the private market in India.

After integrating the operations of two long-established firms—Fulford (India) Ltd and Organon (India) Ltd—with itself, MSD is hopeful of becoming one of the top five drug companies in India by 2015. “We are open to partnerships and collaborations to develop new products,” he said.

According to an IMS 2010 report, the Indian vaccine industry is pegged at Rs 815 crore. MSD has a 3.7 per cent market share in the Indian vaccine market and 1 per cent in the Rs 55,000-crore Indian drug market.

It reported sales revenues of Rs 30 crore for the year 2010. The company employs 2,000 people in India and focuses on segments including cardiovascular, infectious diseases and women fertility.

Ananthakrishnan said the company would launch two new products by this year end and 4-5 new products every year on average. The company has 75 products in 13 therapeutic segments.

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