Chemveda to invest Rs 150 crore to set up R&D centre in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: San Diego-based company Chemveda Life Sciences on Monday announced to invest about Rs 150 crore (about $ 20 million) in  Telangana. It will set up an international standards research and development centre in Hyderabad to expand its footprint here. The announcement came after Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao visited the company offices […]

Hyderabad: San Diego-based company Chemveda Life Sciences on Monday announced to invest about Rs 150 crore (about $ 20 million) in  Telangana. It will set up an international standards research and development centre in Hyderabad to expand its footprint here.

The announcement came after Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao visited the company offices in San Diego. Rama Rao is now in the US with a State delegation to attract investments to the State. The big win came on the first day of the official tour.

“Hyderabad has become the most sought after destination for life sciences companies to establish their research and development centres. I am extremely happy to see companies like Chemveda scale their footprint in Hyderabad. I am delighted to see the industry benefiting from the active research ecosystem, progressive governmental policies, abundant talent pool, in Hyderabad and we will continue to boost the R&D initiatives in the State further,” Rama Rao said.

The proposed research and development centre will complement the life science and pharmaceuticals and allied segments in Hyderabad. The company decided Hyderabad as its new location due to the presence of related ecosystems in Hyderabad. The contract research organisation now caters to pharma, life sciences, agro chemical and industrial segments and currently has about 450 employeees.

The company’s President and Chief Executive Officer Dr Bheema Rao Paraselli said the company decided to invest further in Telangana due to the its industry-friendly policies. The company already has presence in Hyderabad and sees a lot of growth opportunities further in Hyderabad because of the growing life sciences industry here, he said.

The proposed Hyderabad R &D centre, will be about 2,00,000 sqft and creat employment to about 500 scientists. The company has already received a funding of Rs 90 crore (about $ 12 million) and another Rs 60 crore ($ eight million) is committed. The company announced that it will add a GMP facility with a 200 KL capacity.

Scripps Research Campus

Rama Rao also visited the Scripps Research Campus. He met Dr James Williamson (EVP Research and Academic Affairs), Mary Wang (Director, Strategic Planning), Dr Arnab Chatterjee (VP, Medicinal Chemistry), Calibr-Scripps Research and Prof Sumit Chanda.

Scripps Research has over 200 laboratories employing 2,400 scientists and personnel, making it the largest private, non-profit biomedical research organisation in the United States and among the largest in the world. With five Nobel Laureates, the institute holds nearly 1,100 patents, produced 10 FDA-approved therapeutics, and has generated over 50 spin-off companies.

Rama Rao proposed partnership between the Government of Telangana and Scripps Institute, for the upcoming Pharma University in the Hyderabad Pharma City. The scope includes curriculum design, faculty / student exchange, joint research, joint degree programmes and others.

During the meeting, it was proposed to establish a working group with the Scripps Research team to collaborate and learn from the success story of Scripps.

Telangana IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Life Sciences Director Shakti Nagappan were present during the meeting, release said.