HHS Secretary Leavitt and Delegation Visit Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Development Facilities in Hyderabad, India; Meet with Organizations That Fight Human Trafficking

January 8, 2008 – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt continued his visit to India on Tuesday in Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Accompanied by the Honorable Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of the HHS Food and Drug Administration, and David Hopper, the U.S. Consul General in Chennai, Secretary Leavitt met with Kallam Anji Reddy, Ph.D., the founder of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd., to learn how the company produces high-quality generic drugs and drug components for the U.S. market, and the safety measures it employs in this process. At its research facilities in Hyderabad and in Atlanta, Georgia, Reddy Laboratories conducts new chemical entity (NCE) drug-discovery research in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular, anti-infectives, inflammation and cancer.

Secretary Leavitt also met with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region to learn about the challenges and successes of their work to combat the scourge of human trafficking in India. Estimates of trafficking victims in India are in the tens of millions, most of whom are trafficked within the country for purposes of sexual exploitation or bonded labor. Families sell children into servitude as factory workers, domestic servants, or beggars. Secretary Leavitt encouraged the NGOs to continue their efforts, and expressed the desire and commitment of President Bush and his Administration to fight human trafficking throughout the world.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited Bharat Biotech International, Ltd., in the Ranfareddy District of Hyderabad, a private company involved in Indo-U.S. public-private partnerships for vaccine research. Bharat Biotech collaborates with the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the HHS National Institutes of Health (NIH), academia, and U.S. private companies and foundations in the development of vaccines for rabies, rotavirus, hepatitis, and malaria.

During his visit, the Secretary is aiming to build on HHS' partnership with the Government of India on health and science, and to identify ways to enhance the quality and safety of Indian food, drugs, and medical products exported to the United States.

On Monday, the Secretary spent the day in Chennai, the capital of the State of Tamil Nadu, with the Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare, the Honorable Anbumani Ramadoss, M.D., M.P. The Secretary and the Minister visited the General Hospital of Thoracic Medicine and the Red Ribbon Club at Loyola College in Chennai to highlight HHS' efforts under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The two also addressed a roundtable luncheon hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The trip is the Secretary's fourth trip to Asia since taking office at HHS, and his first to India. Later this week, Secretary Leavitt will visit the Indian capital of New Delhi.

For more information:

• Secretary Leavitt blogs from Hyderabad, India, on drug safety and human trafficking

Last revised: January 17, 2008