Redox Labs to train 10,000 people

Visakhapatnam-based Redox Laboratories, the only pharmaceutical finishing school in the country that trains science graduates from rural background, aims to train 10,000 people in the next three years.

Started in 2009 with the support from the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Redox has so far trained 800 people. “We will train 3,000 people this year — assigned to us by the state government,” P Durga Prasad, founder and managing director of Redox Laboratories, said.

There is currently a gap of 60 per cent between the current requirement and supply of skilled manpower in the pharma and drug industry, he said. The industry requires 80,000-90,000 people in India and 30,000 in Andhra Pradesh.

The gap will only widen in the next 4-5 years as some of the major drugs would expire while a lot of new generics were being developed here, he said.

India, with around 28,000 pharma and bulk drug industries, has the maximum number of US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)-approved facilities, which contribute 25 per cent to the global drug market. Andhra Pradesh, being the country’s pharmaceutical hub, has 240 active pharma and bulk drug industries, including Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, and Divi’s.

Redox Laboratories takes BSc graduates (with chemistry major) between the age group of 21 and 26 years from rural background and gives a 45-day practical training in production systems, methods, licences and environment hazards. “We try to bridge the gap between academics and shop-floor practices and techniques through the training centre,” he said.

The finishing school has two training centres in Visakhapatnam with an intake of 300 students (250 and 50 respectively). It is planning its third centre, which would start from June 15, in Hyderabad with an intake of 300 students.

The DRDA bears all expenses right from training, accommodation to food, according to Prasad. The trained students are hired by major companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The salary ranges from Rs 6,000 (in SMEs) to Rs 12,000 (large industries).

A few pharma companies such as Dr Reddy’s and Ranbaxy Laboratories have their own training centres, where they train people on the job, he added.

Redox has received a proposal from the central government to start similar training centres in Jammu & Kashmir. “We have just received the proposal. Nothing has been finalised on that front,” Prasad said.