ACTAVIS STEPS UP PRESENCE IN INDIA

Generic drugmaker Actavis announced recently that it has acquired a manufacturing plant in India from Grandix Pharmaceuticals. In addition, the Iceland-based company has opened a new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development unit in India.

Actavis intends to use the new facility to manufacture older products at lower costs in order to be competitive in the international marketplace. The company will increase the manufacturing capacity of the plant to approximately 4 billion tablets over the next year and a half and strengthen the development and regulatory affairs units.

With its new API development facility, the company aims to develop 10 to 15 products a year and has already started on the first 10. The company also acquired Lotus Laboratories, an Indian contract research organization (CRO), in 2005.

"The new facility will enable Actavis to further reduce its manufacturing costs and provide the support and expertise necessary to extend our growth into key European markets and the U.S.," Robert Wessman, president and CEO of Actavis, said. "I believe this is an important step for Actavis that we now have a backward integration with a growing API development unit, in addition to one of the strongest CRO companies in India."