Aurobindo, an Indian pharmaceutical firm that set up shop in Malta in 2008, is to expand its operations in Malta following the successful implementation of the first phase of its investment.
Along such lines, the company has identified a number of generic products from its portfolio to be launched on the Maltese market in the “foreseeable future”, while it will also be looking to include further value added activities in its Malta operations.
Aurobindo Malta, constructed on 2,000 square metres of custom-built pharmaceutical facilities in Hal Far, is the company’s first European GMP-certified facility.
Given its unique geographical location, the Malta operation acts as the single entry point for the supply of generics to its European distribution network.
“The facility has been purposely built to cater for Aurobindo’s existing sales infrastructure,” the company explains, “to support new market entry plans in the EU, and to service the ever-growing number of leading clients marketing Aurobindo formulations under license in the EU.
“The undertaking of the Malta project has been executed in the most efficient timeframe, thanks to the excellent cooperation, support and encouragement offered by Malta Enterprise and the Malta Medicines Authority.”
The company was established in the late 1980s and what was once a single unit manufacturing semi-synthetic penicillin, Aurobindo Pharma has become one of India’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Under the leadership of its chairman and co-founder, P.V. Ramaprasad Reddy, the company underwent rapid growth in order to become Asia’s largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer.
Employing over 8,000 personnel, incorporating a global marketing infrastructure comprising 35 subsidiaries, Aurobindo exports to over 125 countries with annual turnover in excess of US$900 million.
Aurobindo’s client base today includes several global, pan-European and regional pharmaceutical firms and is considered as a “valued partner”. Bearing testament to Aurobindo’s success are the various licensing agreements with leading multinational pharmaceutical companies through which Aurobindo manufactures and supplies an array of generic tablets and injectables under their own brand names. Such agreements are expected to deliver more than US$200 million by 2013.
Today Aurobindo has 15 manufacturing sites amounting to approximately five million square metres of facilities in India, China, North America, Latin America and its latest European addition – Malta.
The network is complemented by a product portfolio of over 300 generic formulations across six major therapeutic segments, manufactured in GMP approved facilities, audited by leading regulatory agencies such as USFDA, UKMHRA, Health Canada and TGA –Australia.
Aurobindo’s research and development strength includes the development of intellectual property in non-infringing processes, new drug delivery systems and the application of new technologies for process optimisation.
Aurobindo’s state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure comprises three research centres with a combined footprint of 16,000 square metres and employs over 700 scientists, including 35 Ph.D graduates.