GVK Biosciences (GVK BIO), one of the leading contract research organizations in Asia, has received full-accreditation from the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International, a private, non-profit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment program, for its animal facilities.
The accreditation demonstrates GVK BIO’s commitment to high standards of animal care. AAALAC commended the organization for promoting a productive research environment that ensured high standards of humane care and use of research animals.
“It is indeed a proud moment for us. The AAALAC certification reiterates the fact that the team at GVK BIO is par excellent and provides high-quality drug R&D services to its clients in a regulatory-compliant environment,” said Dr JB Gupta, senior vice president for collaborative research and
biology, GVK BIO.
The AAALAC certification will help in furthering GVK BIO’s growth in the areas of pharmacology, ADME/DMPK, exploratory toxicology and animal models. GVK BIO is the first organization in Hyderabad, and only the sixth one in India to receive AAALAC certification. The endorsement is a validation of GVK BIO’s abilities to deliver world-class solutions.


Karmic Lifesciences opens new CRO facility in Mumbai
Karmic Lifesciences, a Mumbai-based contract research organization, has announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art 12,000 sq.ft. CRO facility at Airoli SEZ, Navi Mumbai. The new facility has state-of-the-art facilities including fully-secure, biometrics access, fire-proof, humidity-controlled central archival room, an investigational product storage facility with up to -80º C ambient temperatures, high-end rack servers, secure firewall and dedicated VPN connectivity.
The inauguration was attended by over 200 guests including key industry stakeholders from Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) and Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), as well as several pharma companies, investigators and academicians. As one of India’s fastest growing CROs, it was the next logical step for Karmic to move to a much larger facility and Karmic views this event as a major element in strengthening its positioning for global clients including the US and Europe.
Nidhi Saxena, founder and CEO of Karmic Lifesciences, said, “The new facility is a step towards getting to best-in-class and will help us showcase ourselves as a technology-savvy CRO and ensure full-compliance to US FDA and 21 CFR Part 11 standards. We will further be going in for ISO 27001 (BS7799) certification shortly and will provide platinum standard data security to our global clients. This move comes up with several other initiatives we have embarked upon since we raised capital earlier this year including strengthening the team, enhancing oncology trial capabilities, developing a low-cost EDC solution, setting up a preferred site network on a pan-India basis and setting up a full-fledged sales operation in the US.”
Dr Shreekant Sapatnekar, medical director and COO, Karmic Lifesciences, said “This is our moment of pride and takes us to a different league from an operational and IT capability perspective. Apart from expanding our overall operations, this move will give a strong fill-up to our formidable clinical data management capability and establish us as one of the CDM leaders from India.


Veeda gains 39.57 cr from new biz
Veeda Oncology, a full-service oncology CRO with facilities in North America, Europe and India, has been awarded over 39.57 cr ($8.4 mn) of new clinical research programs over the past 30 days.
The awarded work will be conducted in India, Europe and the US and will include services for monitoring, data management and biostatistics, medical monitoring, safety, site management and project management.
Matt Bowman, president and CEO, Veeda Oncology, said, “We are enjoying our continued repeat business from our existing clients as well as from new clients”.
Veeda Oncology is part of Veeda Group, the largest phase I CRO in India also engaged in early clinical development and phase IIa clinical research since 2005.