Karnataka government has approved a project of The Himalaya Drug Company for establishing a manufacturing unit and a research and development centre for Ayurvedic medicines.

The project approved is at an investment of Rs.165 crore. The new centre of Himalaya Drug Company will be located at Bidadi in Ramanagaram taluk on the Bangalore Mysore Road. Sources from Himalaya Drug Company told Pharmabiz.com that with the go ahead from the government of Karnataka, the company will chalk out its expansion plans. The new state-of-the-art facility is expected to generate employment for 320 persons.

The approval of mega projects committee headed by Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna for mega industries has cleared proposals worth Rs. 3,620.33 crore for 12 projects. Out of these only two are in the pharma sector and the remaining at in information technology and related services.

In June 2001 AstraZeneca Research India laid the foundation for an advanced research facility in Bangalore at an investment cost of $10 million. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in late 2003 will focus finding a new treatment for tuberculosis and will be among the nine global R&D sites to AstraZeneca PLC, Sweden the global pharmaceutical major. The novel laboratory in Bangalore will become an integral part of the company's research into infectious diseases and will become a leading centre of excellence for Developing World Diseases Research, according to officials from AstraZeneca Research India.

Close on the heels of the research facility is the consent from the government of Karnataka to AstraZeneca Pharma India, the formulations arm of the Swedish pharma major for an anti tuberculosis formulations unit at Hebbal in Bangalore north. The project is expected to employ 150 highly qualified biotech medical professionals.