Glaxo SmithKline Plc would be setting up a clinical research facility in India soon. The facility will be used to undertake trials of drugs which are in the company’s R&D pipeline and intended for introduction in the Indian market. The company’s decision to have a full-fledged CR set-up for global trials here has come now as the country is approaching the new patent regime.

Kalyana Sundaram, managing director, GSK India, said that a dedicated facility for in-house clinical research will start functioning soon in the country, for which the parent company would be making the required investment. As the company has at present three drugs ready for trials in India as part of global trials and also the market seems promising for many other drugs that are in the R&D pipeline, the company has decided to expand the CR operation in this country as well, he said.

Though he did not specify whether the functioning of the CR unit will be independent from the Indian subsidiary, he said “whatever is the investment required for setting up the unit will be fully made by the parent company and it is not clear that whether the CR team would report to the GSK Plc R&D wing or to the Indian management.”

However, the company earlier stated that it would certainly use India as a base for research and development activity, which could include contract research too, with the implementation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in 2005 and there is a possibility of the parent company using India as a base for research.

GSK at present has a statistical and data management centre in Bangalore, which participates in the research programme of GSK Plc. But at the moment, the company conducts comparatively smaller volume of research and development in India. However it is expected that it could get a thrust if there is an assurance by the government that there is a complete IPR protection with the enforcement of product patent regime.