Here is an exclusive from Syngene and Baxter's management to BioSpectrum:

How much of investment went in to erecting the BGRC?

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon: Syngene has invested for building the whole infrastructure.

There has been a significant capital investment, and we are also building a stability center in our campus.

Can you tell us something about this collaboration?

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Syngene is a research services provider for a large number of global companies.

There is a research service platform that Syngene is developing for Baxter. This center will be an off-shore developmental center for Baxter.

Mr Jean-Luc Butel, corporate VP, Baxter: One of the areas of interest for us is to improve significant access to healthcare for people right in their homes.

The opportunity is to take the burden away from hospitals and transfer the care to homes, making healthcare more affordable.

 When people are taken care at homes, the outcomes are going to be different, saving much of the costs, increasing access and awareness.

This collaboration with Syngene will explore these potential allowing us to look at the developing markets with a different lens and bring solutions to the home market.

Can you tell us about the team working at BGRC?

Dr Manoj Nerurkar, COO, Syngene: Currently we have 2000 key scientists and the team will grow significantly as we develop more collaborations.

We also have supporting scientists in the team as well.

What were the reasons for choosing Syngene for this collaboration?

Mr Jean-Luc Butel: Syngene has more than 2000 approved scientists and a talent pool of knowledge and expertise that we need to tap in to.

And for us, when we look at a country like India, they have the ability to come up with better solutions which can't happen in the US. The ability to tap the pool and scientific expertise is not the same here as in the US.

It also gives us insights in to the market. We are not driven by costs, but by innovation and affordable healthcare.

What were the major challenges incurred during this collaboration?

Mr Jean-Luc Butel: I think it is all about understanding the needs between each other. In the beginning there is a lot of excitement and it feels great. But it is important to understand, fit and match both the parties' capabilities.

We have been partnering with many companies across the globe, and we have been impressed with the flexibility and openness offered by Syngene. That is not easy.

If there is no transparency, then we'll have expectations that will not be met.

From an industry perspective, what would be your expectations from 2014's Budget?

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: This is the last budget by the current government. I hope they do not cut the budgets for R&D and Science & Technology. They are extremely important.

We also want to see an increased focus on healthcare. From an industry perspective, I'm not expecting much. Somewhere they may decide to cut down their budgets and I hope it doesn't affect the overall healthcare sector.

How long did it take to build the BGRC?
Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: It took about less than a year.