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Novartis sets up dev center in India

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

MUMBAI: Novartis AG has set up a software center in Mumbai to help create drug development software and cut costs, the Swiss drug maker informed. The center, expected to employ 60 people this year, is the fourth such Novartis facility worldwide.

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Novartis currently employs 174 people in IT for drug development in the other centers in the United States, the UK and Switzerland.

"If this one (Indian project) flies, we will add another 42 people over 2005-08," said Iso Moshfegh, global head of development IT for Novartis Pharma AG.

He said the Indian center could result in savings of $42 million over five years as the company could cut its reliance on expensive contract staff in the United States and Europe.

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Novartis Chief Information Officer Jim Barrington said the company spends more than $1 billion annually on IT projects, out of which about $130 million is spent on IT for drug development.

"What we doing here is a pilot to some extent," he said.

"We will look at it closely over the next one to two years and if it is successful, it will look very good because we are looking at all sorts of offshoring opportunities," he said.

India has emerged as a key center for software development and a growing number of overseas companies are opting to send such work offshore.

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