COLUMBIA, Md. & HYDERABAD, India – Grace Davison Discovery Sciences, a product line of W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA), today announced the opening of a new technical service Knowledge Centre in Southern India for customers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The new facility is located in Genome Valley (close to Hyderabad), a growing biopharmaceutical area with more than 100 biotechnology companies and major generic pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The Knowledge Centre was opened to support Grace’s customers in the areas of laboratory separations, bulk purification, excipients and pharmaceutical intermediates. Grace’s expertise in these areas ultimately assists pharmaceutical companies to bring potentially life saving medications to market sooner.

“To better meet our customer demand, we are geographically expanding where it will benefit our growing client base the most,” said Joanne Green, Vice President and General Manager of Grace Davison Discovery Sciences. “We continuously strive to improve our technologies, products and services. The new facility is part of our strategy to build on our footprint in the region and to position for further expansion in the future.”

The centre will serve as a resource for Indian customers, as well as being an Asia Pacific support hub for the region. In addition, it will be a global Knowledge Centre for product development and applications support for Grace Davison Discovery Sciences. Other services provided will include customer training, validation and testing for a variety of products and product demonstrations. The new centre complements existing application laboratories in the United States, Europe and China.

The centre is one of several recent additions to Grace’s global presence to meet a variety of customer needs. In the last seven months, the company has opened new facilities in Chongqing, China and Hai Duong, Vietnam, and completed the acquisition of a manufacturing company in Wuhan, China. In addition, at the end of 2010, Grace began expansions at existing manufacturing facilities in Sorocaba, Brazil and Kuantan, Malaysia.

Grace opened its first India office in Bangalore in the mid-1990s. Over the years, the company has significantly expanded its presence on the subcontinent. Today, Grace has sales, technical service and manufacturing operations across the country–from New Delhi to Bangalore and from Mumbai to Chennai–servicing customers in the discovery sciences, packaging, refining and construction industries.

Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and other products to petroleum refiners; catalysts for the manufacture of plastics; silica-based engineered and specialty materials for a wide range of industrial applications; sealants and coatings for food and beverage packaging, specialty chemicals and additives and building materials for commercial and residential construction. Founded in 1854, Grace has operations in over 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace’s web site at www.grace.com.

SOURCE: W. R. Grace & Co.