Wednesday, October 27, 2010

India's Biocon to invest RM500m in Bio-XCell Iskandar Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Biocon Ltd, India's first billion dollar TECHNOLOGY [] company has proposed to invest RM500 million towards establishing a biomanufacturing and R&D facility in Bio-XCell Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

This is the largest strategic foreign direct investment secured by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) for the Malaysian biotechnology sector thus far.

In a statement on Wednesday, Oct 27, BiotechCorp chief executive officer and Bio-XCell chairman Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said Biocon's strategic and impactful investment in Bio-XCell would move the industry to the next level.

"It will be a catalyst in our commercialisation efforts as we enter phase 2 of our National Biotechnology Policy ??? the Science to Business Phase," he said.

Biocon chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said Malaysia was a compelling global destination for biotechnology, backed with world-class infrastructure and attractive tax incentives.

"Investing in Malaysia provides us with an international location with strategic geographical proximity to India.

"Biocon is pleased to be an early mover in this emerging opportunity as we dovetail our research and biomanufacturing operations with those in Malaysia to gain a global competitive advantage," she said.

Mazumdar-Shaw said that the project would focus on research and development and production of high-end biosimilars and other biopharmaceutical products.

In the first phase, Biocon proposes to invest around RM500 million in this facility which is targeted to be operational by 2014.

Biocon is headquartered in Bangalore and has representative offices in the USA, UK and Abu Dhabi. The company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of around US$2 billion (RM6.2 billion).


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