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Mumbai, Feb. 22: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will set up a vaccines facility at Nashik in Maharashtra. The cost of this facility, which will commence operations in early 2006, will be around $20 million.

It is the first such facility to be set up outside Europe. Vaccines for India are developed, produced, filled and packaged at the company?s vaccines headquarters and manufacturing facility at Rixensart, Belgium.

In India, the vaccine facility will be set up by GSK Asia Ltd, which was formerly SB Asia, the 100 per cent subsidiary of erstwhile Smithkline Beecham (SB). This subsidiary later came into the Glaxo fold after the acquisition of SB worldwide.

Vaccines of GSK Biologicals are either sold through GSK local operating companies or directly to NGOs, governments or private customers. In India, the listed entity, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, will be responsible for the sale of these vaccines.

GSK India will buy the vaccines from GSK Asia at a transfer price and the deal will be done on an ?arms length? basis, said S. Kalyanasundaram, managing director of GSK India and vice-president, South Asia of GSK International.

The turnover from the vaccines will be reflected in the pharma business or GSK India.

On bestowing control of the vaccine facility with the subsidiary, Kalyanasundaram said the group liked to keep technical data in a closely guarded manner and that proprietary rights to technology should be vested with the 100 per cent subsidiary.

GSK is optimistic that the move will benefit countries like India as its product portfolio is synergistic to its health needs.

GSK has vaccines for diseases like rotavirus related gastroenteritis, malaria, TB, dengue fever, Hepatitis E and typhoid among others.