WASHINGTON, Mar 30: Indian pharmaceutical company Granules has opened a packaging facility in the Virginia State of the US to expand the packaging capacity of essential drugs in the state, thus strengthening the biopharma supply chain.
The facility was inaugurated by India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
Granules, which was one of the first Indian pharmaceutical companies that received FDA authorization to export to the United States, has invested more than USD 100 million in the country, said Dr Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, the founder, chairman and managing director of the firm.
“We have nearly 200 employees in Virginia with a large majority of them first-generation Indians,” he said, adding the company also has a team of 30 scientists for research and development.
Granules India Ltd produces some of the most widely used drugs, including Paracetamol, that have been very useful to billions across the world, Chigurupati said.
“Happy to see ‘Made in India’ medicines value added in the US by Granules. A perfect example of the India-US partnership in affordable healthcare!” Ambassador Sandhu said in a tweet after he visited the facility in Virginia.
Observing that healthcare is one of the key elements in the India-US bilateral partnership, Sandhu said that “in the early days of the Covid pandemic, India supplied essential drugs and diagnostics kits to the United States just as the US assisted us during the second wave of the pandemic”.
COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of resilient and sustainable supply chains, especially when it came to such a key sector as pharmaceuticals, he said.
India has the largest number of FDA-approved plants outside of the US, Sandhu said.
“Our pharma and life sciences companies are also setting up manufacturing facilities in the US, making drugs affordable and accessible.
“We are working with the US Government to strengthen this supply chain and to ensure that critical APIs and KSMs, apart from finished drugs, are available to partner countries,” the Indian ambassador said.
According to him, the success of the health partnership is one part of the growing India-US economic story. It is a key part of the booming trade between the two countries, which crossed USD 191 billion in 2022, he said.
“Two-way investments are also at all-time high and Indian companies such as Granules have brought value and competitiveness to the US economy. At last count, there were more than 200 Indian companies present in the US with investments totalling more than USD 200 billion in almost all of the 50 states,” Sandhu added.
Select USA, which is led by the US Department of Commerce focusing on facilitating job-creating business investment into the country, congratulated Granules India Ltd on the opening of its new facility in Virginia.
“This USD 12.5 million investment is creating 57 jobs and addressing consumer needs for pharmaceutical products,” it said, adding that Select USA is proud to assist companies like Granules throughout their investment journey.
US-India Business Council president Atul Keshap said, “The new plant will expand packaging capacity for essential drugs in Virginia, strengthening the biopharmaceutical supply chain.” (PTI)
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