Avesthagen sets up biotech lab in Chile, enters R&D alliance

20 March 2009

Avesthagen Limited, a leading Indian biotechnology firm, today announced the setting up of Avesthagen Latam SpA at the Venture Lab at the Business School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Penanlolen, Santiago, Chile, as part of its overseas expansion plan.

Avesthagen also entered into strategic alliance with Uxmal SA, a Chilean biotechnology firm, for promoting research and development and commercialisation of bioactives for use in products like functional foods and healthcare.

Under the tie-up, the two firms would work on bioactives and tissue culture of Latin American plants for development and commercialisation of functional foods and medicinal plants, Avesthagen said.

The two would also combine their research activities based on Latin American medicinal plants for development of bioinformatic platforms.

Avastegen would also use the tie-up to market biosimilars that are in an advanced stage of development at its R&D labs.

"We intend to use our domain expertise and knowledge base in furthering research and development related activities for the development of technology and products in agriculture, pharma and food business internationally,''  said Villoo Moarawala Patel, CMD of Avesthagen.