How comfortable are animal health care companies towards outsourcing?
Outsourcing services when possible is quite common and we are quite comfortable with it. We have used tollers to manufacture active ingredients when necessary and utilize contract services to conduct studies when required. A large company has to utilize any resource that is available to cost-effectively develop products. What are the strengths of Indian animal health companies and what portions of work can be outsourced to Indian companies? The obvious strength of Indian companies is the bright and well-educated workforce available in the country. The other obvious strength is the low cost of development. While some of the pharmaceutical studies could be outsourced, there are severe limitations to outsourcing biologics/vaccine related work. Import and export of strains (viruses or bacteria) for development purpose or challenge are restricted and it is difficult to obtain permits. We are forced to outsource to companies in the US or the European Union depending on whether the strains or
