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Rediff.com  » Business » India to be hub for US drug firm

India to be hub for US drug firm

By Rajesh Mahapatra in New Delhi
October 04, 2005 12:44 IST
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An American nonprofit company that helps set drug standards in the United States wants to make its soon-to-open Indian laboratory a hub for certifying medicines manufactured in Asia, a company official said Monday.

US Pharmacopeia's laboratory in Hyderabad -- its first lab outside the United States -- will likely open in February, and scientists will collaborate with the company's lab in Washington to determine if various drugs' standards are up to the mark, Vice President-International Kumud Sampath said.

US Pharmacopeia works with the US government's Food and Drug Administration. Once the FDA approves a drug for the US market, US Pharmacopeia establishes quality standards, which are enforced by the FDA.

Although the lab's immediate objective is to make it easier for Indian pharmaceutical companies -- which have become a major supplier of generic drugs to the United States -- to get certification, the Hyderabad lab will eventually cater to manufacturers from other Asian countries, Sampath said.

"Moving forward, we would like to see this as a hub for Asia, catering to manufacturers from Malaysia, Thailand, China and others in the region," said Sampath, who heads the company's India operations.

Sampath said the Hyderabad lab will help Indian companies cut the costs and logistics involved in getting certification. She said it would also encourage more Indian companies to certify their products with American standards.

Indian producers will also be able to sell more of their drugs in the dozens of other countries that accept Pharmacopeia's standards, Sampath said.

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Rajesh Mahapatra in New Delhi
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