The Central government has cleared the foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal of Hyderabad based Shantha Biotechnics Pvt Ltd (SBPL), for strengthening the manufacturing facility for hepatitis B vaccine and Alpha Interferon. The company can now allow its foreign partner, the Government of Oman to increase its share by 50.46 per cent from the existing 50 per cent by investing Rs 1.55 crore in the joint venture. The FDI clearance was among the 41 proposals that were approved by Arun Shourie, Minister for Disinvestment and Commerce & Industry recently. The total worth of FDI investment approved by the government as per the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) would come to Rs.206 crore.

SBPL has already announced plans to construct a new manufacturing facility with three production lines within a year. The company is to invest Rs 20 - 25 crore on the new facility. Manufacture of hepatitis B vaccine, alpha interferon, and restriction enzymes biotech lab reagents are all part of its future plans.

The new facility is to be adjacent to the present hepatitis B manufacturing facility of the company at Medchal, and will be used for the production of streptokinase, GCSF and combination vaccine (hepatitis B + DPT). The company is expected to get the marketing approval for all these products within a couple of years. While streptokinase and the combination vaccine are to go through human trials in the coming months, SBPL is expecting to add GCSF to its product portfolio in a couple of years from now.

The company had recently launched Shanferon, India's first indigenous recombinant human interferon alpha 2. It was the first Indian company to come out with hepatitis B vaccine also.

SBPL has plans to produce GM-CSF, G-CSF, tPA, EPO and Human Growth Hormone (hGH). It has an alliance wit hBaxter USA for the marketing of meningococal -C vaccine in the country. It also plans production of diagnostic kits-AlphaFeto Protein, Troponin I, hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis E and hepatitis Cv. The company will also develop vaccines for hepatitis E, typhoid, tuberculosis and new generation vaccine against hepatitis B, apart from Therapeutic antibodies like lung carcinoma, melanoma, cardiovascular diseases and Anti-D.