USA – Indian pharmaceutical company Granules through its Granules Consumer Health (GCH) step-down subsidiary has opened a packaging facility in Virginia to expand the packaging capacity of essential drugs in the state.
The facility is over 79,000 square feet and is equipped with packaging lines and clean rooms to package and ship prescription and over-the-counter products across the U.S. market.
The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the United States.
In addition, Ambassador (ret) Atul Keshap, President of the US India Business Council, Mr. Jasjit Singh, Executive Director of Select USA, Mr. Scott Melville, President of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and Mr. Chris Shorter County Executive of Prince William County were on hand for the inauguration.
Granules, which was one of the first Indian pharmaceutical companies that received FDA authorization to export to the United States, has invested more than US$100 million in the country, said Dr. Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, the founder, chairman and managing director of the firm.
“Granules Consumer Health’s packaging facility will improve resilience in our supply chain as well as improve our reaction time,” said Chigurupati.
“The facility will enable us to meet fast-moving consumer shifts as well as reduce lead times for critical prescriptions products that are in shortage.”
The addition of a U.S. packaging facility will result in Granules being among the few pharmaceutical companies to be vertically integrated from API to packaging, Granules has invested approximately US$12.5 million into its US packaging facility.
According to Ambassador Sandhu, India has the largest number of FDA-approved plants outside of the US.
“Our pharma and life sciences companies are also setting up manufacturing facilities in the US, making drugs affordable and accessible,” noted Sandhu.
“We are working with the US Government to strengthen this supply chain and to ensure that critical APIs and KSMs, apart from finished drugs, are available to partner countries.”
Granules also received ANDA Approval for Gabapentin tablets. The company announced that the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) approved its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Gabapentin Tablets USP, 600 mg and 800 mg.
It is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD), Neurontin Tablets, 600 mg and 800 mg, of Viatris Specialty.
Granules now have a total of 55 ANDA approvals from the US FDA (53 Final approvals and 2 tentative approvals).
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