Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI) broke ground at the construction site of a new 50,000 sq.-ft. R&D center at the Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park in Hyderabad, India. The new facility represents the first major expansion of the company’s Hyderabad Research Center, a subsidiary of AMRI.

When completed in late 2007, the new R&D center will conduct contract projects in early stage drug discovery research, including custom chemical synthesis and medicinal chemistry. The new facility will also house a scale-up laboratory, which will be used to develop efficient methods for producing larger quantities of APIs and intermediates.

The new facility will add more than 100 employees to the company’s existing Hyderabad operations, which currently have 19 employees in the nearby ICICI Knowledge Park. The current facility can accommodate as many as 40 employees and is expected to reach full capacity in the coming months.

“The expansion of our Hyderabad Research Center will enhance our ability to provide customers with a range of flexible drug discovery and development services and cost options,” said AMRI chairman, chief executive officer and president, Thomas E. D’Ambra, Ph.D. “Since the opening of AMRI facilities in India and Singapore last year, many of our customers have already capitalized on the synergies created by this global expansion.”