The Hyderabad-based Avra Labs has established a new joint venture company 'Avra Synthesis', in collaboration with Apex Enterprises, aiming at developing specialty laboratory chemicals and creating an efficient distribution mechanism catering to rapidly emerging drug discovery and contract research activity in India.

Dr AV Rama Rao, chairman and managing director, Avra Labs, said Avra Sytnthesis, the 52:48 joint venture between Avra Labs and Apex Enterprises aims at introducing niche chemicals for drugs research, which are not developed elsewhere in the world. Apex Enterprises team will bottle, label and distribute the lab chemicals to target markets.

A new facility is being established for this purpose at Hyderabad on a two and half acre site at an initial cost of Rs 8 crore. Land has been acquired at Nacharam Industrial Area in Hyderabad, construction has begun, and the facility is likely to be operational in 2007.

The Department of Science and Technology is assisting the programme with a soft loan of Rs 3 crore. DST was keen to support any activity that will support drug development during the current fiscal. Avra wants to utilise these funds and be in a position to offer lab chemicals to wider markets before 2010.

Availability of research chemicals and analytical instruments had been a challenge to the pharma industry, while the latter improved as there was Department of Science and Technology intervention. More than 50 per cent of the lab chemicals used by the industry today are imported, as there are few manufacturers and more traders in the country. Imported chemicals are often found expensive, Dr Rao explained.

The major reason for not having many manufacturers of lab chemicals in India has been lack of scientific back up to develop lab chemicals and the volumes of business being minimal. The development of lab chemicals has also been associated with lot of inventory, making the chemicals more expensive.He added, Asian countries in particular, need to strengthen their position in the lab chemicals as only Japan has made notable progress. India and China have a long way ahead.