These include former drugs controller M Venkateshwarlu, Ranbaxy CMD Malvinder Mohan Singh, Ranjit Shahani, India chief of Swiss pharma major Novartis AG, Ramaprasad Reddy, chairman Aurobindo Pharma and Rajesh Jain, joint managing director, Panacea Biotec.
India's leading drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories is likely to announce a drug discovery research tie-up with US drug manufacturer Merck soon. Ranbaxy's ongoing research collaboration with GSK also relates to the pre-clinical trial phase of the new drug, with significant milestone payment and post-commercialisation royalty possibilities. Ranbaxy's decision to de-merge its research operations was intended at having more collaborative research programmes involving foreign firms.