Rockwell Automation, a leading global provider of power, control and information solutions, is eying India as a potential business center in the Asian region. The company is in the process of approaching leading pharmaceutical companies in the country to enable them to switch over to the fully integrated enterprise production management (EPM) systems offered by Rockwell. It's known that the systems would help the companies to optimize the product life cycle in pharmaceutical supply chain.

Informing this to Pharmabiz.com, Bernhard Thurnbauer, director CEO Pharm Ind Asia-Pacific, Rockwell Automation Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd said that the company is in touch with all top Indian pharma companies to help them switch over to the EPM systems offered by Rockwell. He said that almost all leading pharmaceutical companies in the world have adopted such systems.

"Top 50 pharma cos in Europe and US are making use of our systems. Pharma majors are looking for global supply chain. Streamlining of global supply chain becomes possible through our system. It helps companies in complying with the international standards and specifications. We see that global manufacturers are investing in China. Indian market is also one of the major markets, which can be of interest to global pharma majors," he said.

Rockwell installations in the Asian region include the electronic data records system set up for Aventis, the installations in Nippon-Roche in Japan and also the ones in the centers for excellence in Asia Pacific region.

"Cheap labour alone cannot attract global pharmaceutical companies to India. For this they need to make sure that the Indian companies can comply with all requirements. All complexities can be handled by using appropriate IT tools. The computer systems can help the companies improve their efficiency, documentation process etc. For all critical operations it is essential," he reminded.

The EPM system of Rockwell is based on a collaborative and integrative business model from drug development via clinical trial manufacturing to commercial manufacturing. "Our systems are integrated ones and are used by nine out of 10 top pharma companies in the world. We have about 300 installations in 20 countries," Thurnbauer said.

Most of the major plants lack adequate systems support for major processes. In addition, plant systems are highly fragmented and often difficult to support. Global manufacturing strategy requires greater integration and standardization, he explained.