Evotec has expanded its capacity with the acquisition of drug discovery service company Research Support International Private (RSIPL) for Euro 2.8m (US$4m; £2.4m) from DIL (formerly Duphar-Interfran), India.
The transaction gives Evotec a 70% controlling stake in a complementary drug discovery operation in India.
Evotec has an option to buy the remaining 30% from DIL in the future.
"With this acquisition we reinforce our strategic commitment to deliver the highest value, know-how driven services and build the strongest innovation alliances with our customers, said Mario Polywka, COO of Evotec.
"The partnership with Evotec will lead substantially to the growth of RSIPL and we look forward to a successful association with the company," added Krishna Datla, managing director of DIL.
RSIPL, located in Thane near Mumbai, was founded in 2004 and employs approximately 160 people. It will become Evotec India, and join Evotec's operations in Hamburg (Germany) and Abingdon (UK). The deal is expected to close in September.
Evotec set up a joint venture with Research Support International (RSIL) in 2007 to offer high quality, low cost services for the parallel synthesis of compound libraries to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. At the time, Evotec provided RSIL's laboratories in Thane with state-of-the-art equipment and specific expertise.