Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will enter India through a joint venture with US-based Proctor & Gamble (P&G) and set up its first manufacturing facility at Sanand in Gujarat with an initial investment of Rs 250 crore.
“TPI and P&G joint venture P&G Teva would set up over-the-counter (OTC) drug manufacturing facility at Sanand with an initial investment of Rs 250 crore,” the Gujarat Commissioner Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), Mr H.G. Kohsia, said.
“The total proposed investment in Gujarat by the venture is around Rs 500 crore. It would initially hire 500 people, which could go up to 1,000,” he said.
Around 15 acres for the project has already been acquired, Mr Koshia said.
A formal announcement is likely to be made after signing of MoU with the State Government during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2013 scheduled for January next year, official sources said.
“The facility to come up on 15 acres is proposed to have two separate lines, one for manufacturing Ayurvedic drugs and another for allopathic medicines,” he said.
A joint delegation of P&G Teva recently visited Gujarat and evinced interest in setting up a manufacturing facility here.
“A four member delegation led by the Vice-President Corporate Quality of Teva, Ms Karin Baer, met us and sought details of setting up a facility to manufacture OTC products like cough syrups, inhalers...amongst others,” Mr Koshia said.
The Teva Assistant Vice-President, Mr Rajiv Palliwal, Senior Director, OTC Operations Teva, Mr Haresh Gill and a senior scientist from P&G, Ms Seema Sundereshan, were part of the delegation, he said.
The proposed facility at Sanand would have high-tech equipment and adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) norms to make products both for Indian and overseas market, Mr Koshia said.
A lot of global companies have evinced interest in setting up their facilities in Gujarat, an established hub for pharmaceutical companies, especially SMEs.
NYSE-listed Teva Pharmaceutical is number one global generic company, having a portfolio of 1,480 molecules with operations in 60 countries and distribution network in around 100 countries.