Syngene ties up with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, and Dr Francis Cuss, senior vice president, Bristol Myers Squibb, at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the research facility at Biocon Park in Bangalore.

Syngene, Biocon's subsidiary company, has entered into a research partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Through this symbiotic global partnership, Biocon's Syngene will provide research and development (R&D) services for discovery and early drug development. Bristol-Myers Squibb will significantly increase the scope of its existing relationship with Biocon's Syngene to further develop integrated capabilities in India in medicinal chemistry, biology, drug metabolism, and pharmaceutical development. Under the terms of the agreement, Syngene will partner with Bristol-Myers Squibb through a dedicated research facility at Biocon Park in Bangalore, which was opened on March 21, 2007.

Dr Francis Cuss, senior vice president, Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Bristol Myers Squibb, laid the foundation stone for the facility. Prof H Sharat Chandra, director, Centre for Human Genetics, Bangalore, presided over.

Spread over an area of 1,50,000 sft, the facility will house more than 400 scientists, who will help advance Bristol-Myers Squibb's discovery and early drug development.

"This is the largest collaboration of its kind for Bristol-Myers Squibb. With this association, the company will significantly increase the scope of its existing relationship with Biocon's Syngene to further develop integrated capabilities in India in medicinal chemistry, biology, drug metabolism and pharmaceutical development. The company has mainly collaborated with Syngene to access the abundant talent that is available in India. This collaboration will also help us to sustain and boost our product pipeline," said Dr Francis Cuss.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said, "This is a step change in the way Syngene has been delivering services to its customers. The facility for Bristol-Myers Squibb will be a multimillion stand-alone research center. The establishment of the facility is a culmination of the research endorsement signed in the 1990s with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Syngene will support Bristol in researching new molecules for critical disease areas."

Dr Goutam Das, COO, Syngene, added, "I am optimistic that around the same time next year the new facility for Bristol-Myers Squibb will be inaugurated." On the occasion, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and delegates from Bristol Myers Squibb also inaugurated the Phase II of Syngene's new research center. At this expanded facility, Syngene will conduct custom research for other clients.

Biocon unveils renal therapy products

Infosys Foundation chairperson, Sudha Murthy, launching Biocon's nephrology products in Bangalore. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, looks on.

Biocon has announced the launch of its new nephrology division and a comprehensive portfolio of renal therapy products. The products were launched by Infosys Foundation chairperson, Sudha Murthy, at a press conference in Bangalore, India, on March 8, 2007, which coincided with the World Kidney Day.

The new immunosuppressants for renal therapy include Renodapt (Mycophenolate Mofetil), Tacrograf (Tacrolimus), Cyclophil ME(Cyclosporine Micro Emulsion USP), Rapacan (Sirolimus) and Erypro (rHuEPO). Immunosuppressants are powerful medicines that inhibit or prevent the activity of the body's immune system.

Speaking at the launch, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, said, "With the launch of the nephrology division, Biocon has taken bold strides in the pharma space. Kidney disease is a life threatening disease and is on the increase. About one lakh patients get affected in India every year and only 20 percent of them can afford renal replacement therapy (RRT) for transplant or dialysis. The treatment is challenging and expensive and Biocon is committed to launching affordable drugs. Our products are 35 to 40 percent cheaper than the existing drugs in the market."

She further stated, "Biocon is already the largest manufacturer of immunosuppressants in India and our new nephrology division offers the most scientifically configured and comprehensive portfolio of renal therapy. We are committed to high quality branded formulations for nephrology with the aim to deliver superior therapeutic benefit. Biocon is poised to be a high quality player in the nephrology market with the most balanced portfolio of brands".

"The size of the nephrology medicine market in India is Rs 300 crore of which the market for immunosuppressants accounts for Rs 125 crore. Biocon is looking at taking 25 percent share of the market in the next five years. The immunosuppressants market is expected to touch Rs 300-400 crore in the next five years," she informed.

Globally, the nephrology market is a $3.3 billion market opportunity. Biocon's target market for nephrology products is primarily the GCC region. It will also market the products in India and extend it to the neighboring countries as well. At a later stage, we plan to enter Latin America and other highly regulated markets," he added.

Avesthagen launches Parsi genome project

Dr Villoo

India's Parsi community is dwindling in numbers very fast and today there are just about 69,000 of them, compared to a few million decades ago. Lower fertility rate has been cited as one of the major reasons for their declining numbers. At the same time, experts have been amazed by the presence of surprisingly large number of very elderly Parsi citizens who have defied age and tend to live much longer than the average Indians.

Now, Bangalore-based Avesthagen has launched an ambitious $27-million (Rs 125 crore) Avestagenome project to identify the genetic basis of the longevity of the Parsi population.

Parsis, or Zoroastrians, arrived from their homeland in Iran to escape persecution by the supporters of Islam, over 1,000 years ago. They landed in Gujarat and subsequently spread to Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Avesthagen's founder and herself a Parsi, Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell said the project aims to build the complete genetic, genealogical and medical database of the Parsi community. The comprehensive database arising out of this project will provide invaluable information on these linkages for all of humanity and not just for the Parsi community alone. The project results will find application in disease prediction and accelerate the development of new therapies and diagnostics.

The conservative community has discouraged inter-community marriages and the close-knit community has been in-breeding over many generations. Genetic experts believe that this in-breeding may have contributed to inheritance of genetic disorders leading to declining numbers. At the same time, they may also have inherited some genes which may be increasing their longevity.

Avesthagen and its partners will collect samples from the community members along with complete genealogical and medical information. The samples will be processed through the highly sophisticated genomics facility at Avesthagen, which is equipped with high-speed polymorphism analysis systems (Sequenom, USA's MassARRAY) and ABI sequencers to identify the causative genes. The data will be statistically analyzed through Avesthagen's bio-informatics channels for processing and creation of the database.

Dr Villoo said, "Avestagenome is a path breaking project which would be instrumental to establish linkage between genes, disease and environmental factors. It would help us predict diseases and would play a catalytic role in development of new therapies and diagnostics."

This project is expected to be completed within five years and is being implemented by a body of eminent stakeholders and opinion leaders within the Parsi community and comprising leading industrialists, clinicians, scientists and others. Avesthagen will bring in seed capital in the form of its high throughput genomics and bioinformatics facilities and other special expertise.

Avesthagen breaks ground for new R&D center

Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt Ltd (Avesthagen) has begun construction of its new 2,50,000 sft corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art R&D center. The center is being constructed at ITPL, Bangalore. Avesthagen-One, as the building will be known, promises to be iconic in more than one aspect. Currently, Avesthagen operates out of 50,000 sft at ITPL. Keeping in view its global ambitions, aggressive growth strategy and plans, the management felt that it was imperative to construct an R&D center dedicated to innovation with its systems biology platforms. This center will be designed by Hafeez Contractor.

DuPont opens plant biotech center in India

DuPont will locate its first plant biotechnology research center outside the US at the new DuPont Knowledge Center in Hyderabad.

"The global demand for agricultural crops is very strong. We have the science to help farmers and others across the value chain meet that growing demand, and this research center will help us do that faster," said William Niebur, vice president, DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development.
Twenty DuPont crop genetics scientists already have begun working at temporarily leased facilities near the site where the new Rs 100 crore (over $20 million) DuPont Knowledge Center will be built. By year-end, DuPont expects the number of crop genetics scientists on site to grow to nearly 100 as part of its $100 million reinvestment plan. The plan will add more than 400 global positions, mainly in research and development, to increase the speed-to-market for new seed products.

DuPont today has major plant biotech research centers in Delaware, Iowa and California, along with 90 plant genetics research centers around the globe. Plant biotech scientists at the DuPont Knowledge Center will develop biotech traits and technologies that will be incorporated into multiple crops for markets around the world. The trait discovery work conducted on site will help create advanced seed products to meet the growing global demand for increased food production, improved animal feed products and expanding energy needs.
"This research facility reinforces the importance of India as a global center of scientific excellence," said Balvinder S. Kalsi, president and CEO, DuPont India. "The center will allow us to access tremendous scientific talent in this region in support of DuPont's efforts to create products that address the food, feed, fuel and materials challenges of the 21st Century."
The plant biotech scientists will move into the DuPont Knowledge Center when it is completed in 2008. The DuPont Knowledge Center will accommodate more than 300 scientists and other employees when fully operational, providing research and development capabilities to help drive the company's business growth in India and around the world. It will be the seventh major DuPont R&D facility outside the US; the others are located in Shanghai, China; Utsunomiya, Japan; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Kinston, Canada; Wuppertal, Germany; and Meyrin, Switzerland.

The DuPont Knowledge Center is expected to house research programs for several businesses, including subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International; DuPont Crop Protection; Chemical Solutions Enterprise; Electronic Technologies; Surfaces; Building Innovations; Titanium Technologies, and; Performance Coatings.

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