Dishman to expand operations in India and China.

The Dishman Group of Ahmedabad, India, has announced capital investments of more than $33 million; $20 million in the current financial year and $13 million planned for fiscal year 2009, which begins in April. The global pharmaceutical services provider will see significant expansion of its capabilities and offerings this year, with the addition of a high-potency facility near Dishman's headquarters in the district of Ahmedabad and a new plant in Shanghai, China. The facility in India is a state-of-the-art, 4300 [m.sup.2] plant catering to cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic highly active substances, and one of the largest and most flexible custom manufacturing high-potency facilities in the world. In Bavla, the plant will be managed and operated by Dishman subsidiary, Switzerland-based Carbogen Amcis AG, and is scheduled to be operational by mid-2009.

The facility in Shanghai will include a production plant, a warehouse, its own dedicated on-site utilities and administrative/quality control offices. Construction of the facility is under way and is expected to be fully staffed and operational by the second quarter of 2009. "The new facilities in India and China will enable customers to collaborate with Dishman as a sole technical partner from early stage development to market supply, without volume limitations. The addition of the plant in India offers customers a seamless approach to high-potency research and development, process optimization and commercial manufacturing," said Jay Vyas, Managing Director of Dishman. The company places a strong focus on safety and security, with an emphasis on risk management strategy, which provides redundancy of supply in multiple Asian sites and countries and also provides ease of Asian collaboration. "Additional locations and infrastructure provide secure options that maximize speed, flexibility and cost advantages for customers with the same safety and quality standards, globally," said Vyas.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]