AstraZeneca has chalked out plans to scale-up their operations in India with the expansion of their Process R&D group in Bangalore. The company has purchased the land measuring 1,4,200 sq. meters in its existing campus- Avishkar. The new facility can accommodate 50 more scientists along with the support staff of Process R&D. The investment for the project is around $5 million. Work on the new building is planned to start in December 2004 with a target completion by the 2005-end.

The co-location of the Discovery and Process R&D scientists will help AstraZeneca to maximize the scientific interactions and enable shared use of the R&D infrastructure, informed Kumud Sampath, president, AstraZeneca R&D Bangalore. AstraZeneca R&D, India is a part of the AZ Global R&D organization. With the new facility, the India operations of AstraZeneca will now include the Discovery Phase R&D, Process R&D, Manufacturing facility and Marketing Division (ISMO) at Bangalore.

Venkataramanan Associates, the architectural firm involved in building the R&D centre a year ago, have been chosen to handle this new project. The design of the new facility will be fully integrated into the current R&D facility, and will provide more scope for future expansion.

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare company engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $18.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products. AstraZeneca R&D is mainly focused on tuberculosis research & AstraZeneca Research Foundation India (AZREFI ) which supports education and technological innovation by organizing seminars & symposia.