New Delhi, March 11: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd announced today that its research and development (R&D) head, Rajinder Kumar, had quit and there is going to be a re-alignment in the R&D set up of the company.

Rajinder Kumar is going back to the UK, becoming the second research chief to leave in a year.

Kumar had left GlaxoSmithKline to take charge of Ranbaxy?s R&D in July last year. He had joined in the place of Rashmi Barbhaiya, who had quit after a two-year stint. Barbhaiya had come to Ranbaxy from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Ranbaxy said in a statement that Kumar had left for the UK due to ?personal circumstances? and would be invited to join Ranbaxy?s R&D advisory council soon.

As part of its new strategy for R&D, Ranbaxy has separated its R&D division into two sections. One section focuses on new drug discovery while the other focuses on generics, drug development and new drug delivery system (NDDS).

Ranbaxy said as part of the dual strategy of having a robust R&D for both drug discovery and generics, the company has separated these two areas of R&D so that they can get heightened focus and achieve rigour for success.

Brian Tempest, CEO and MD, Ranbaxy, said, ?We acknowledge the role that Rajinder Kumar has played in institutionalising the R&D regimen, and in particular the clinical processes at Ranbaxy. The company continues to be on a strong footing in this area. The new structure is designed to bring into sharper focus the unique needs of drug discovery and generics research, while emphasising both equally.?

The re-alignment of its R&D division distinctly divides the research activities into two spheres, each of which will be handled by a different head. So, instead of one research head there will be two in the new structure.

Vijay Batra will lead the generics research efforts of the company. He will report to Tempest. Kasim Mookhtiar, who will be in-charge of the new drug discovery, will also report to Tempest.

Ranbaxy has more than 11,000 scientists working on various projects. The company regularly recruits scientific talents from overseas as well. Apart from its own in-house R&D unit, Ranbaxy has partnership with GlaxoSmithKline.