H. Lundbeck A/S, the Danish pharmaceutical major, has been cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in Bangalore. The subsidiary, H. Lundbeck India Pvt Ltd, would be the company's 33rd worldwide.

The company is one of Europe's major research based pharmaceutical companies manufacturing drugs to treat central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The company currently makes anti-depressants and psychopharmaceuticals like Sertonin (SSRI) and Cipramil. The company, through its subsidiary, will now market the drugs in the country directly. Till now the marketing of the drugs was being done by Cosmo Pharma.

According to Mammen Mathew, managing director of the subsidiary, the company plans to double its sales force in the next three months and triple the sales through the launch of new research products in the contry. "The domestic market for CNS drugs is currently pegged at Rs.625 crores. We plan to capture a market share of Rs.25 crores in the next 2 to 3 years," Mathew said.

The Danish company is currently constructing its new escitalopram (escitalopram) plant in northern England. When completed by end of next year, the plant would be the largest of its kind in the world.