Biotech major Biocon has announced that its subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, has acquired R&D capital assets for a 60,000-sq ft ‘bench to pilot scale’ biologics research facility at TICEL Bio Park in Chennai.
Biocon Biologics has acquired these assets from Pfizer Healthcare India.
The acquisition is to strengthen the company’s product pipeline of 28 molecules, including 11 with Mylan, few with Sandoz and the rest on its own. The company did not disclose financial details of the deal.
TICEL Bio Park is a hub for the biotech R&D industry in major domains such as medical biotechnology, nutraceuticals, agricultural biotechnology and bioinformatics and provides world class infrastructure support.
Christiane Hamacher, CEO, Biocon Biologics, said: “The high-end integrated R&D facility in Chennai will enable Biocon Biologics to expand its R&D capability and accelerate its journey towards meeting its strategic long-term goal of addressing the needs of millions of patients worldwide. This investment will allow us to fast-forward development of our biosimilars from lab to pilot scale.”
The facility will house an early stage research and innovation centre, including a pilot scale R&D unitequipped with cell line development, drug product formulation laboratories and analytical R&D laboratories. The facility is expected to be operational in a few months post qualification and will house over 250 scientists.