Swiss company Ferring Pharma to set up a manufacturing and R&D base in Hyderabad

While the company refused to give a number to the investments at this stage, the government sources indicated that it could be anywhere from $100- $250 mn

Switzerland-based specialty pharmaceuticals group Ferring Pharma is planning to set up a manufacturing plant in the upcoming Pharma City located near Hyderabad.

"We plan to develop fully integrated facilities here including R&D, commercial and manufacturing units. We already have 11 such facilities around the world including Europe, US, China, West America and Middle East," Michel Pettigrew, president and COO of Ferring Pharmaceuticals said.

While the company refused to give a number to the investments at this stage, the government sources indicated that it could be anywhere from $100- $250 million.The company already has two manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra.

"The facility at Karakapatla (Pharma City), we just inaugurated the site yesterday, will be of a capacity of several hundred people...The facility in Hyderabad will include pharmaceutical activities and development of molecules and drugs differently, Pettigrew said while adding that the company will be investing about $ 25 million for the first phase and hoping to start the second phase with the labs in 2017.

On Tuesday, the company chairman and managing director Frederik Paulsen and India head, Ashok Alate met with chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao.

No toxic chemicals would be used in their units and the products they work on would be the safest drugs and are useful as lifesaving medicines in super speciality hospitals, they informed the chief minister.

The company has made a formal announcement on Wednesday at BioAsia, the biotechnology and life-sciences forum event here. Addressing a press conference along with Ferring Pharma COO, the state industries minister Jupally Krishna Rao said close to Rs 1,000 crore worth of MoUs were signed with various biotech companies during the three day event.