Ferring Pharma has announced the establishment of another formulation unit in India at Hyderabad for manufacturing of its product called PENTASA® (Mesalazine). Ferring will invest approximately €60M over the next 2-3 years for establishing this manufacturing facility. PENTASA® (Mesalazine) is a Ferring product used for the treatment and long-term management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease. It is prescribed to treat the mild to moderate symptoms of active IBD as well as used widely as maintenance therapy to reduce the risk of recurrent attacks.
PENTASA® is available orally as tablets and granules (sachets) within Europe and the rest of the world, with the exception of the US. In the US, Shire US, Inc. sells PENTASA® under a trademark license from Ferring. Ferring produces the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), Mesalazine, at two of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities – in Denmark and in India, near Mumbai. As of 2020 (QYResearch), Ferring was the largest Mesalazine producer in the world. At present, Ferring has only one formulation unit for producing Pentasa® in St. Prex, Switzerland and now Ferring has decided to establish another formulation unit at Hyderabad (Ferring Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.).
The announcement was made after Minister Mr. KT Rama Rao’s meeting with leadership of Ferring – Mr. Alessandro Gilio, Executive Vice President and Chief Manufacturing and Supply Officer, Mr. Armin Metzger, Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, Mr. Francois Hosotte, Vice President Strategic Projects and Engineering and Bhavin Vaid, Senior Director, Corporate Communications at World Economic Forum, Davos. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Dept. and Mr. Shakthi M Nagappan, Director Lifesciences, Government of Telangana were also present during the meeting.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, speciality biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. Headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years and has a portfolio covering treatments from conception to birth. Founded in 1950, privately-owned Ferring now employs approximately 6,000 people worldwide, has its own operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries and markets its products in 110 countries.
Mr. K.T Rama Rao said that, “I’m delighted to announce the expansion of Ferring Pharma in Hyderabad. I had the pleasure of inaugurating the facility only last month and just a month after, the company has decided to invest additional Eur 60 Mn based on their seamless experience of setting up their first facility in Hyderabad. This only reinstates the confidence global companies are reposing in Hyderabad’s ecosystem and also a testament to the pro-business policies of Telangana Government.”
