Aventis Pharma is shifting a major part of its global R&D operations into India with its plan to set up its Drug Innovation and Approval (DI&A) division in the country soon. DI&A arm of the company, responsible for the research and development of prescription drugs, is currently located only in the US, Germany and France.

The industry sources confirmed to Pharmabiz.com that the decision to include India in the key global R&D locations is final now and the company has already started the infrastructure and human resource development exercise at Aventis Pharma Limited, the Indian company of the Group. The sources said that the DI&A establishment, to be based in Mumbai, is going to be significant in size and nature than the existing other three locations.

The DI&A signifies a new beginning, a deviation from traditional R&D structures. It symbolizes a change in both the mindset and approach of identifying, developing and obtaining approvals for innovative therapeutics simultaneously in key countries.

DI&A is comprised of sites, project teams, global departments and support functions. The sites are responsible for managing the disease groups and moving projects from exploratory through the early clinical stages of drug development, and functioning in a semi-independent, biotech-like environment.

The early-stage global departments, lead generation and lead optimization, support the sites with the best people and technologies. Late-stage functions, product realization and global regulatory approvals and marketing support provide worldwide coordination of clinical studies and submissions strategies to optimize the clinical trial data, facilitate simultaneous global submissions and lifecycle management of its products.