The drug discovery company intends for this new site to increase its reach in the region, supporting growing demands from its Asia-Pacific consumers.
Cresset, a UK-based company focused on solutions for computational drug discovery and development, announced on May 13, 2024, that it is opening a new headquarters in Bangalore, India. This news follows the establishment of Cresset’s new facility in Boston earlier in 2024. The facility in Bangalore, one of India’s leading areas for biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, is intended to expand Cresset’s existing Asia-Pacific presence, increasing its reach across the region to include markets such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Australasia.
Cresset intends to take advantage of the nearby chemistry talent available in Bangalore. New staff appointments in India will encompass a range of areas, including sales, support, and development.
“Launching our new site in India marks a major milestone in our international growth and expansion as a company,” said Mark Mackey, PhD, co-founder, chief scientific officer, Cresset, in a press release (1). “The talent pool and centers of excellence available in the region will enable us to expand our existing service offering to clients and develop strong relationships through face-to-face contact on the ground.”
“We already have a satellite office space in Bangalore, where a high proportion of our Indian staff are currently based,” Mackey continued. “The new office will allow us to grow our overall business and gain access to grant funding in the Indian market.”
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Bangalore is a popular area for expansion. On Oct. 30, 2023, Aragen, a contract research development and manufacturing organization, announced its new biologics manufacturing facility in the city, as part of a $30 million investment (2). The planned 160,000-square-meter facility is set to include process development labs and multiple good manufacturing practice (GMP) suites, as well as supporting functions such as quality control labs. It is designed to facilitate solutions across the biomanufacturing lifecycle and will be equipped to develop and manufacture monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins, and fusion proteins.
Aragen has since operationalized the first phase of the facility, which it announced in a press release on Mar. 27, 2024 (3). It also executed its first small-scale manufacturing project for a US-based organization, a novel anticancer monoclonal antibody. The facility can process batch sizes up to 50 liters and includes process development and analytical labs.
“We are happy to announce the commissioning of the first phase of our biologics manufacturing facility at Bangalore, India as per schedule and the successful completion of the first project at this facility,” said Manni Kantipudi, CEO of Aragen Life Sciences and director of Aragen Biologics, in the press release (3). “This brings us one step closer to offering full-scale Gene-to GMP solutions to our customers. Once the facility’s expansion is fully operational by the end of this calendar year, we will be able to do internal tech transfer from our R&D labs in California to the manufacturing site in India, thereby enabling end-to-end integrated service offering to customers.”
References
- Cresset Group. Cresset Targets Global Growth with New India HQ. Press Release, May 13, 2024.
- Mirasol, F. Aragen to Establish $30 Million Biomanufacturing Facility in India. PharmTech.com. Nov. 2, 2023.
- Aragen, Aragen Operationalizes First Phase of its Biologics Manufacturing Facility in India. Press Release. Mar. 27, 2024.
