GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain's largest drug company, has signed an outsourcing deal with India's Tata Consulting Services to establish a drug development support facility in Mumbai. The arrangement will create nearly 100 new jobs on an existing site and reports say that the deal is understood to be worth more than £10 million. A company statement said that under the terms of the deal, TCS will support GSK's global clinical research and development programme by providing outsourced data management and medical trial reporting services.

GSK already has sizeable research operations in Mumbai and Bangalore and employs 2,400 people in India, where it controls 5.9 per cent of the pharmaceuticals market, The Times said. Amber Salzman, senior vice-president of development operations at GSK, said in a statement that the company had picked TCS as a partner because of its strong record in knowledge process outsourcing and operational excellence.

Like many global companies GSK has been seeking to tap into India's pool of high-quality IT and scientific talent and is aiming to trim costs through outsourcing.

GSK is also involved in research collaboration with India's Ranbaxy Laboratories, to jointly develop drugs in areas such as urology, diabetes and asthma. Earlier this year, GSK announced that pre-tax profits rose 16 per cent in 2006 to £ 7.8 billion on the previous year, on turnover of £ 23.2 billion.