Government drawn up plans to expand Genome Valley by 250 acres: KTR

IT minister K.T. Rama Rao said the government had drawn up plans to expand Genome Valley by 250 acres, as Thursday marked the entry of Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) and Belgium-headquartered Eurofins into the valley, at different phases. While BSV held a groundbreaking ceremony for a bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing unit, Eurofins inaugurated a biopharma services campus.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of BSV, Rama Rao said: "BSV choosing Genome Valley for its manufacturing unit reflects the huge opportunity, potential and the comprehensive ecosystem that Telangana offers."

The `200-crore facility, on 10 acres, will cater to domestic and export markets, including regulated markets like the USA and EU. It will provide long-term employment opportunities and upskilling to ramp up production of injectables, including women's health products, rabies vaccines, immunoglobulins and hormones.

"We are delighted to be a part of the Genome Valley ecosystem that promotes research and innovation and provides a conducive scientific temper for bio-pharma companies to operate. The support received from the state of Telangana has been encouraging," said Sanjiv Navangul, managing director and chief executive officer, BSV.

Meanwhile, Eurofins, a leader in food, environment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic product testing inaugurated its BioPharma Services Campus, its second India, in about 15 acres at Genome Valley.

The campus has about one lakh square feet of laboratory and office space. It will provide services in discovery



chemistry and discovery biology, safety toxicology, bioanalytical services and formulation development to global pharmaceutical companies.  

"Eurofins has invested about Rs 1,000 crore and the current facility will be scaled up to one million sq. ft. It will create further employment opportunities from this campus over the years," Rama Rao said.

Asking the company to partner with the government in piloting food sampling, Rama Rao said: "I am concerned about the kind of chemicals being used, the food adulteration that is happening. We don’t have the capacity to test each and every restaurant on a daily basis. Of course, we expect the F&B industry to regulate itself from doing anything which is untoward. I think together we can work on a model."

Neeraj Garg, regional director, Eurofins, said: "We identified Hyderabad, and in particular Genome Valley, as an attractive place to invest because of the ecosystem existing in the city, and the ease of doing business. We have been impressed by the collaboration we have had with the Government of Telangana to make this investment, and believe Hyderabad will be a strategic location for Eurofins in our global BioPharma services network," he said.

"The Hyderabad campus will be expanded to become the showcase site for Eurofins in India, encompassing services across the complete pharma R&D value chain from discovery to development to GMP testing, both for small molecules and large molecules," said Rajiv Malik, director of Eurofins Advinus.