Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd will be setting up its first overseas plant in Perak, Malaysia. The new plant will be built at the pharmaceutical park in Seri Iskandar and will produce vaccines for typhoid and Hepatitis B, besides other recombinant products.

Dr Krishna M Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech said the company would be investing about RM50 million in the new plant's manufacturing, and research and development divisions. Bharat Biotech signed a memorandum of agreement with Remco Engineering and Consultancy Sdn Bhd and Perak Development Corporation (PDC) towards this. Under the joint venture, Bharat Biotech will be responsible for providing the technical expertise, while Remco Engineering will build the plant. PDC is the land owner. Dr Krishna informed that the vaccines manufactured at the Perak plant would be used to penetrate the Middle East and Asian markets, particularly Indonesia. The new plant will be ready by the middle of 2006.