Biocon makes $161M Malaysian R&D investment

India's Biocon, which recently inked a $350 million biogenerics deal with Pfizer, has announced that it's investing $161 million to establish a biomanufacturing and R&D facility in Bio-XCell, a biotech park and ecosystem in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. Biocon Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw says her company will pursue development of biosimilars and other biopharmaceutical products at the new sites. The facility should be operational by 2014.

"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," explains Mazumdar-Shaw.

It's good news for Malaysia, which has been attempting to draw more biotech business to the country. The Biocon project is expected to provide opportunities for Malaysian small and medium biotech companies, as well as attracting Biocon's affiliates to the country. "Biocon's strategic investment in Malaysia will propel our industry to the next level," notes BiotechCorp CEO Dato' Iskandar Mizal Mahmood. BiotechCorp was founded in 2005 to provide support, facilitation and advisory services for biotech and life sciences companies in Malaysia.

- read the Biocon release