The Danish Ambassador to India, H E Freddy Svane visited the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant being constructed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals in the MIDC area of Ambernath, District Thane. The manufacturing site, which is expected to be inaugurated next year, is being built as per the latest European standards in order to cater to the global supply of Ferring’s major product Pentasa - a drug used to treat and control the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Ferring’s operations in India started in 1996 and current activities include import, export, local manufacturing, sales and marketing, R&D, etc; employing approximately 300 people. In 2013, Ferring started building the drug manufacturing facility with an estimated investment of Rs. 200 Crore that will effectively complement its requirement worldwide. The project is aptly named PEOPLE (Pentasa Expansion and Oral Pharmaceuticals for Local Economy).
Ferring Pharmaceuticals has already established its R&D facility in the area for new drug delivery platforms - used for production of Minirin, their market leading urology product. This facility has been operational since 2007.
The ambassador, recognized the Ferring site as a clear example of successful Danish businesses flourishing in India and expressed high hopes from the facility at a time when the new Maharashtra government has assured support to back export oriented industry. “The whole idea of the site fits very well with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to back indigenous production. This not only creates huge job opportunities and fund inflow for the nation, but also paves the way for similar foreign companies looking to invest off-shore as Ferring successfully brings its technologies and expertise to ‘Make in India,” the ambassador conveyed.
The manufacturing site is being built through most efficient in-house processes, while keeping in mind Ferring’s globally maintained standards as well as environmental norms such as zero emissions in the region.
“Our philosophy at Ferring is ‘People Come First’. We focus our efforts to provide utmost benefits to our employees, customers and society at large. While we take extra caution for employee safety at the plant, we aim to use minimum organic solvents in the production process. The plant itself is built with the aim to support the use of Affluent Treatment Plant in the industrial area,” stated Ferring Therapeutics chairman and MD, Dr Ashok Alate.
Ferring Group is engaged in pharmaceutical business worldwide for the last 65 years. Ferring has a strong presence in Denmark with Global R&D Center, a large manufacturing site (Syntese A/S). Headquartered in Switzerland, Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group active in global markets.