Swiss specialty chemical company Clariant plans to invest $10 million in a healthcare packaging plant in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India. The facility will manufacture Clariant’s moisture control products to support the country’s growing pharmaceutical packaging market.

The new plant will initially produce desiccant canisters and packets that are inserted into the packaging to control moisture and protect the stability of the medicine during its shelf life. The desiccant production area will be Clean Room Class 100,000 and certified ISO 8, and will comply with all relevant cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) and US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) standards.

The company did not reveal when the plant would be operational.

Ketan Premani, head of Clariant Healthcare Packaging Sales in India, said that as the country is the world’s largest provider of generic drugs, this makes it a key market for the company’s desiccant products.

Output will primarily serve globally active generic and branded pharmaceutical companies operating in India, as well as the domestic market. “The new facility will enable us to enhance our medical specialties business and offer end-to-end solutions to our existing as well as potential customers,” said Deepak Parikh, region president – India, adding that the Indian market is at the core of Clariant’s global focus.

According to research firm, Markets and Markets, India’s pharmaceutical packaging sector is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% from 2015 to 2020.

Clariant said the facility in Cuddalore, together with its plant in Changshu, China, and the recent purchase of VitaPac in Dongguan, China, gives the company a major position in Asia’s expanding healthcare sector.

As well as pharmaceutical desiccants, Clariant Healthcare Packaging’s range of controlled atmosphere packaging solutions includes equilibrium sorbents, adsorbent polymers, oxygen scavengers and pharmaceutical closures and containers.