Pharmacopeia to Invest in a New Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing PCM Lab in Genome Valley, Hyderabad

In a big boost to Government’s focus on the life sciences sector, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) India is expanding its footprint in Hyderabad and will be setting up a new continuous manufacturing (flow chemistry) facility in Hyderabad with an additional capital investment of USD 200K. The facility would enable the pharmaceutical manufacturers to gain efficiencies and flexibility in manufacturing processes 

Mr. Stan Burhans, Chief Finance Officer, USP-US and Head of USP India Operations, and Dr. K.V. Surendra Nath, Senior Vice President, Regions, Strategy and Operations, USP met Minister Mr. KT Rama Rao today and made the announcement. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Dept. and Mr. Shakthi M Nagappan, Director Lifesciences, Government of Telangana were also present during the meeting.

USP team briefed Minister that USP India has invested more than USD 5 million in the last 24 months alone towards the development of infrastructure and capital equipment for scientific laboratory and have added more than 70 employees. Further, the new advanced laboratory with a team of about 50 experienced scientists in Hyderabad would support the development of guidelines for new processes/technologies to address some of the challenges in implementing the continuous manufacturing processes. A 12,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Genome Valley will be equipped with advanced synthetic and analytical capabilities. 

USP is an independent, scientific non-profit organization that sets quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. USP India started its journey in 2006, to support the global standards development and have now expanded to one of the biggest outposts for the organization in the world at an area of 1 lakh sq. ft area with lab capabilities, such as analytical development, a synthetic lab, a biologics research lab, and pharmaceutical certification (verification) programs. 

Genome Valley in Hyderabad is India’s first and largest cluster for life science R&D and clean manufacturing cluster housing more than 200 life sciences companies. The government has taken various initiatives to strengthen the cluster further. Serving as a testimony to the scientific prowess of Hyderabad, the team has developed over 750 technologies and delivered 1,000 impurities in the last ten years. This is a unique common facility available to all the manufacturers to develop their products through continuous manufacturing.

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Hon’ble Minister Mr. K.T Rama Rao said that “I’m delighted to announce US Pharmacopeia’s expansion in Hyderabad with a new continuous manufacturing facility. The government remains committed to promoting investment in newer, efficient, and sustainable technologies and this new facility being set up by USP will further accelerate efforts of the Government to help pharmaceutical companies become more efficient. The continued expansion and a new investment of this nature in Hyderabad reinforce the city’s leadership position in the life sciences sector.” 

It may be pertinent to add that Government in November 2021 had launched a center of excellence in flow chemistry and continuous manufacturing together with Dr. Reddy’s and Laurus Labs located at the Institute of Life Sciences. 

“This continued investment in the facility in Hyderabad allows us to reinforce our conviction in life science, support pharmaceutical industry, and promote public health. We anticipate that India and Hyderabad will further cement its position in the global life science arena in the post-pandemic world” said Mr. Stan Burhans, Chief Finance Officer, USP-US during the announcement.