Biocon to invest Rs 1,000-mn in R&D

New Delhi: Biotechnology major Biocon will be investing Rs 100 crore in the next fiscal in enhancing its Research and Development (R&D) to keep pace with increased orders from multi-national firms as leading global firms have cut down on their expenditure of R&D.

'We will be investing Rs 100 crore in 2009-10 for enhancing our Research and Development,' Biocon Chairperson and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.

The company has earmarked an investment of Rs 60 crore for the current fiscal, she added.

'We have seen an increase in research activities coming to our company during the current financial crisis as there has been a pressure on big pharma companies, mainly from western world, to cut expenditure on R&D,' Shaw said.

The current economic downturn has not affected Biocon much, she added.

On the source of funding the expansion plan, she said, it would be through internal accrual.

When asked about the company's forecast during the current fiscal Shaw said: 'We will meet what we had internally forecasted. It will be a double digit growth.'

On its R&D programme she said, two of its molecules for the treatment of diabetes and psoriasis is under development and have entered in phase-III of clinical trials.