Mumbai: Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL), the second-largest pharmaceutical company in India, has rolled out their research and development (R&D) expansion plans by inviting two internationally renowned scientists, Sir Ravinder Maini and Prof Bob Chaudhuri, to join its scientific advisory board.

Speaking at the scientific review Dr Swati Piramal, director, strategic alliances and communication, said: "We are investing Rs 75 crore over the next two years and Rs 40 crore per annum subsequently as a part of the expansion plan for the R&D centre. The new R&D facility in Goregaon, Mumbai, is spread over an area of 2,00,000 sq ft and will focus on rheumatology and cancer research, apart from new chemical entities [NCEs] and new drug-delivery systems [NDDS]."

Dr Somesh Sharma, chief scientific officer, NPIL, says: "The inclusion of eminent scientist like Maini and Chaudhuri will add a lot of impetus to our efforts at the R&D centre. The close collaboration between eminent academic researchers, scientists and doctors in a stimulating environment will lead to major discoveries and improvements in treatment for patients."

NPIL's aim is to be an integrated pharmaceutical company with a commitment to discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of indigenous pharmaceutical products. With this target in mind, the company places a premium on promoting new concepts and individual inspiration from all sources - external and internal.

NPIL is also investing in conducting clinical trials as they are cheaper and faster in India than those in developed countries with manpower costs a third of western levels. This presents another attractive opportunity that India can leverage with its access to huge patient databases and its lower cost of data management of clinical trials. The R&D programme is divided into four strategic business units with different cross-functional teams that enable effective project management and a sharing of skills.

Maini is the recipient of the prestigious Albert Lasker Award 2003 for clinical medial research and pioneering radically new and better treatments for rheumatoid arthritis - a progressive, painful and crippling disease that effects many millions of people globally. The therapy he developed has brought relief and vitality to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, and promises to better the lives of even more individuals as it proves effective in additional debilitating illnesses.

The Lasker Awards for basic clinical and medical research have come to be known as 'America's Nobels' and 66 recipients of the Lasker award have gone on to receive Nobel prizes. They were first awarded in 1946.

For the same research Maini has been honoured with a Knighthood from the Queen and the Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Until recently Maini was director of the Kennedy Rheumatology Research Institute in London. Honorary member of innumerable international societies, committees and advisory boards, Maini has more than 400 articles to his credit in refereed journals and invited reviews mainly on autoimmune disease.

Chaudhuri, with wide research interests in molecular basis of cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases, was until recently a senior research manager at Novartis, Basel, Switzerland. As a scientist he specialised in molecular/cell biology, biochemistry, protein chemistry, enzymology, yeast / drosophila genetics and organic chemistry.

He also has wide experience in areas of biotechnology related to the discovery and validation of new pharmaceutical entities using novel technologies. Educated as an Organic Chemist in IIT-Kanpur (PhD), MIT/Utah State University-USA (post-doctorate), Chaudhuri is currently with the School of Pharmacy at De Montfort University as a professor of cancer studies.