AMRI opens new research facility in Hyderabad

Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI) has opened its new 5,000m2 research and development centre at the Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park in Hyderabad, India.

The new r&d centre, located near AMRI's existing chemistry facilities in Hyderabad, will provide additional space for the company's laboratory-scale Indian operations. It includes laboratories for conducting early stage research, such as custom chemical synthesis and analytical chemistry.

Additional scale-up laboratories for preparing both preclinical and clinical trial supply active ingredients are expected to open later this year and in 2008 respectively. Those larger laboratories will be used to develop efficient methods to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.

The new facility also is equipped with extensive environmental controls and a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment unit. AMRI has invested approximately US$8m (Euro 5.8m) in construction and equipment.

During this first phase of expansion, the new r&d centre will add approximately 100 employees to AMRI's operations in the ICICI Knowledge Park, which currently has 35 scientists. Additionally, infrastructure has been added at the new site to allow a second facility to be added in the future, which would more than double employee headcount. Dr Rajesh Shenoy, director of AMRI's Hyderabad operations, will oversee these facilities.

"In addition to expanding our capabilities in India, this new state-of-the-art research facility increases our capacity to provide customers with a flexible range of drug discovery and development services out of Asia," said chairman, ceo and president Dr Thomas E. D'Ambra.

In July, AMRI completed the acquisition of two pharmaceutical manufacturing sites, along with additional land for expansion, in Aurangabad and Navi Mumbai, India. "We look forward to achieving synergies between these new development laboratories and our large scale manufacturing facilities," added D'Ambra.