MSD India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co. Inc., US which invested $150 million in setting up a research & development (R&D) centre at the Jamia Millia Islamic University is now working to commission the same at the earliest. The facility will focus on vaccine research and drugs for new diseases.

The research centre is a not- for - profit initiative by the global pharma major.  “Considerable work is in progress to ensure that we are able to open the centre at the earliest and it is difficult for us to give the exact time of commencement of research. The company invested in the R&D in India going by the promising prospects to research on the vaccines and make available a slew of preventive solutions to control some of the dreaded diseases,” K G Ananthakrishnan, managing director MSD India said.

The company is known for its range of vaccines including the recently introduced 'Rota Teq', a pentavalent version for the paediatrics. It is also the face behind the cervical cancer vaccine Gardisal, diabetic drug Januvia and antibiotic Invanz.

“We see prospects of growth in most parts of the world including India and other emerging markets. We are seriously considering price points for accessibility going by the significantly lesser affordability factor among the patients. This is where a research centre in India will help us drive drug development for many of the chronic and critical conditions,” he said.

For MSD India A preferred strategy for India is the partnership route. It has inked pacts with Serum Institute for vaccines, Sun Pharma for diabetes, Nicholas Piramal and Orchid Chemicals where it would leverage the best of capabilities. Besides 60 per cent of its manufacturing in India is carried out under the partnership mode with leading pharma companies.

“For us India is the big market for growth. The population size, along with the opportunity for vaccines, drugs for infectious diseases and diabetes have led us to ramp up our presence here, said the MSD India chief who was in Bangalore for the opening of a dedicated cervical cancer clinic for prevention and early detection tilted as 'Guard Yourself'.

There is also considerable attention to disease management awareness. The  rising incidence of diabetes has led the company to have a dedicated call centre at Chennai to support the patient pool besides educating the general public on the preventive aspects of life style disorders.

Globally with the research pipelines drying out, MSD allocates around $7.7 billion for research which accounts for 16 per cent of its turnover. We need to stay on course as the world needs newer molecules and novel drugs to tackle the dreaded diseases. The company already has 19 molecules in the phase III stage which indicates the quality of research outcomes, said Ananthakrishnan.