The expansion, financial details of which have not been released, covers both manufacturing capacity and inventory management infrastructure according to company VP Jayanti Vaidyanath.
Vaidyanath explained that the firm started offering trial supply services in 2003, beginning with a modest 18,000 sq ft of manufacturing and warehouse space at its Mumbai facility.
She added that: “Now, with the expanded facility, we have a bigger area of 6200 square feet,” adding it includes two walk-in cold rooms at 2-8 degree storage, ambient storage at 15-25 degrees and storages for temperature ranges between -20 and -70 degrees."
Vaidyanath went on to say that Siro has also invested in its in inventory management process, selecting Oracle Siebel’s CTMS tool to run stock control and distribution operations.
Ajit Nair, who head up Siro’s Indian operations, stressed the customer service benefits of the additional capacity, explaining that: “The facility expansion will enable us to handle many more orders thus increasing our ability to serve a wider client base.”
Dr Nair went on to say that Siro’s recent partnership with New Jersey based pharma services firm Advanced Clinical Trial Solutions (ACT), signed in April, will also benefit from the facility expansion.
“[The new capacity] broadens our scope by making us a part of their global storage and distribution network and increases the platform to work on for our international pharma and biotech clients.”
Indian trials market to grow 31% to 2012
Siro’s report of increasing demand for trial services fits with data revealed by an RNCOS survey released in September.
The analysts predicted that the value of India’s outsourced trial market will grow 31 per cent a year between 2010 and 2012, driven by the huge pool of patients and the low cost of research compared with other countries.
The report also said that Phase II and III trials, which currently make up around 80 per cent of the studies conducted in the country, will continue to dominate the market with the mix of small local contract research organisations (CRO) and global firms like Quintiles also being maintained.
Overall, RNCOS expects that the number of trials conducted in India between now and 2012 will increase around 14 per cent, suggesting that Siro’s expansion and distribution partnering deals is well timed.