India
India's Biocon to hike investment in Scotland
By IANS
Feb 7, 2006, 15:19

Indian biotechnology major Biocon will increase investment in Scotland which is an emerging destination for clinical development of drugs.

Bangalore-based Biocon has had close relationship with life sciences organisations in Scotland. There are more than 550 life sciences organisations in Scotland, employing more than 26,500 people, according to Scottish Enterprise.

Speaking to Financial Times during a visit to Scotland, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon, said: "Last year we spent $2 million in this area and in future years that will grow to tens of millions of dollars - work that I think I could very easily shift here.

"There is a lot of pre-clinical toxicology that needs to be done. India has some gaps that Scotland could fill very easily."

The financial newspaper reported that although India enjoyed a considerable cost advantage, Mazumdar-Shaw explained that some products needed global trials.

"You can easily do development work outside the US as long as you conform with FDA (Food and Drug Administration) standards," she said.

During her visit, she attended her first meeting of the international advisory board of Scottish Enterprise.

The board is part of the government-funded development body's "globalscot" network, a group of 900 senior business leaders based overseas who try to help Scottish companies and the economy.

The Financial Times report said that Mazumdar-Shaw was introduced to the network by John Shaw, her Scottish husband. She said it had been "an eye-opener" for her to discover the strength of Scotland's skills base, which meant work could be done more quickly than in the US.

The report added that Mazumdar-Shaw was also excited by Scotland's potential as a base for epidemiological studies because of the links between government, universities and life sciences companies.

Epidemiological studies relate diseases and their causes by studying large populations.

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