GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO EXPAND VACCINES RESEARCH IN INDIA

UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline's vaccines unit, GSK Biologicals, has outlined plans to develop its Indian operations into a leading centre for vaccines discovery. The company has four clinical trials scheduled to begin in India this year, on potential therapies for AIDS, tuberculosis, dengue fever and malaria. Company sources claim significant investment will boost the unit's currently small-scale R&D activity.

India is becoming increasingly popular with multinationals as a base for R&D activities, given low costs and the population's diverse genetic mix. GSK signed a wide-ranging drug discovery and clinical development collaboration with leading Indian drug company Ranbaxy in October 2003. Although the company insisted at the time that Ranbaxy's discovery capabilities had inspired the deal, sources conceded that India's cost advantages compared to the US or Europe had partly prompted the decision to partner with a local company.