Serum Institute to invest Rs 1,200 crore in India's first biotech SEZ in Pune
Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla, chairman and managing director, Serum Institute of India Ltd, inaugurated Serum Bio Pharma Park, the country's first biotech Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Pune on February 23, 2006. The SEZ, located at Hadapsar, adjoining Serum Institute's existing manufacturing unit, is a sector-specific SEZ meant for biotechnology and pharmaceutical products.

With the inauguration of the Serum Bio Pharma Park, the Serum Institute of India Ltd, India's largest exporter of vaccines and immuno-biologicals and a flagship of the Poonawalla Group of Companies, has entered the real estate business too.

The SEZ, which has currently been allocated 55 acres of notified land in the first phase, would, based on availabilities and opportunities, be gradually expanded to 250 acres. The SEZ will stimulate economic activities by offering larger employment opportunities, attract substantial investments for export production and render services abroad to earn more foreign exchange.