Rajendra, a senior scientist working with GlaxoSmithKline in the UK, will take over as the head of research and development at Ranbaxy Laboratories.

The post of president (pharmaceuticals) at Ranbaxy had fallen vacant after Rashmi Barbhaiya left the company a few weeks ago.

Rajendra is expected to take up the assignment in a few days, company sources said.

Apart from GSK, Rajendra has worked with major pharmaceutical companies in Europe and the US. He is known to have worked in several disciplines of pharmaceutical R&D.

"This has given him expertise in various therapeutic areas, which is essential for the top scientist's job at Ranbaxy," sources said.

Ranbaxy has an R&D programme spanning new drug discovery research, development of novel drug delivery systems, generics and herbal medicine.

The company has a vision to derive 40 per cent of its $5 billion turnover by 2013 through proprietary products.

The company hired close to 200 scientists in 2003 and is putting up a third research centre at Gurgaon near Delhi.

The company has undertaken some high-profile patent challenges in the US, the world's biggest pharmaceuticals market, including Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's largest selling drug.

Rajendra will be the third head of Ranbaxy's R&D in the last few years.

Barbhaiya took over after Jag Mohan Khanna retired over two years ago. It could not be established if Rajendra would be given a berth on the Ranbaxy board of directors.

It is worth noting that Khanna had served on the company's board, while Barbhaiya was not a board member.

Ranbaxy has got into a collaboration with GSK for research in new chemical entities. This is GSK's first collaboration in the developing world, though it has two such tie-ups in Japan.

Rajendra's appointment comes at a time when there is a transition of power taking place at Ranbaxy.