September 17, 2007, Mumbai: Hikal Ltd., the preferred long-term outsourcing partner for leading global life sciences and specialty chemicals companies today announced the appointment of
Dr. R.Helmut Rupp as the President of its new Contract R&D Company. The company which is a 100% subsidiary of Hikal, called Hikal Technologies is setting up a state-of-the-art Contract R&D facility at Pune, India.

Dr. Rupp has occupied various top level positions in leading multinational companies such as Hoechst AG, Germany, Lonza, Switzerland and Allessa Chemie, Germany, mainly in the field of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. His experience encompasses a mix of scientific, technical as well as managerial roles. He is well acquainted with the US, European and Asian markets, especially the Indian sub-continent by virtue of his earlier tenure as R&D Director of Centre for Basic Research, Hoechst India Ltd.

"We are pleased to announce Dr. Helmut Rupp's appointment as the President of Hikal Technologies and welcome him. Dr Rupp’s background and leadership will be crucial for the success of our new Contract R&D Company. He brings with him rich experience and strong leadership capabilities which will prove to be a real asset. We look forward to his leadership in building a world-class company that caters to creating intellectual property for our global customers," said Jai Hiremath, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Hikal.

The 70,000 sq. ft. R&D facility will employ approximately 100 scientists in the first phase and serve as a hub for contract research support services. It will provide chemical contract research services for clients in the pharmaceuticals, biotech and specialty chemical industries. Special emphasis will be given to safety and scalability of processes provided, in order to facilitate smooth transfer to piloting and manufacturing operations.

About Hikal Ltd.

Established in 1988, Hikal is a reliable partner to companies in the Pharmaceuticals, Agrochemicals and Specialty Chemicals industries. The company has positioned itself as a CRAMS company providing services to its customer right from gram scale to commercial scale. Our advanced manufacturing facilities have been inspected and approved by globally recognized bodies such as the USFDA. Hikal is involved in custom synthesis and manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and Crop Protection Chemicals and has manufacturing sites at Mahad and Taloja (Maharashtra), Panoli (Gujarat) and an API manufacturing facility in Jigani (Bangalore). Hikal’s manufacturing activities are supported by state-of-the-art research centres in Bangalore and New Bombay.