Unichem in pact with IIS
By Nisha Das | 24 Oct 2001
Mumbai: The Rs 300-crore Unichem Laboratories has signed an agreement with the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IIS) to set up a biotech-based research and development (R&D) centre to develop recombinant DNA products, protein expression and platform theologies.
The company has also tied up with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to co-market Glenmarks anti-biotech drug Linezolid in different regions across the country. Linezolid is a new generation antibiotic that is useful in combating life-threatening infections and resistant strains of certain organisms.
Unichem
officials said IIS has allotted 3,500 sq ft of floor space
at its Bangalore campus to Unichem for setting up a laboratory.
The company plans to invest about Rs 7 crore in the initiative.
An initial sum of Rs 4 crore will also be invested in
the current financial year to set up a sophisticated R&D
centre by January 2002. We have allotted Rs 5 crore for
capital expenditure and have accounted for an annual revenue
expenditure of Rs 2 crore, the officials added.
Unichem
has drawn up a blueprint on the four projects that it
plans to undertake at its new R&D centre. Of these,
Unichem will undertake three projects and one will be
jointly undertaken with IISs biotechnology department.
The company has, so far, recruited seven scientists and
plans to induct eight more in the next financial year.
The officials said that the company is looking to tap
market potential for biogenerics globally. According to
a recent IMS report, the potential market for global biogenerics
is worth about $2 billion and products such as erythroprotein
alpha, filgrastim, interferon alpha-2b, interferon beta
1-a, hepatitis B vaccine, somatropin and interferon beta-1b
are fast nearing generic exposure.
The current sales value of biotech drugs that are coming
off patent before 2005 is worth US$ 25 billion, the report
says. Unichems alliance with IIS is the second such alliance
for the company. It already runs a research programme
in the area of plant biotechnology with NBRI, Lucknow.
Unichem recently operationalised a Rs 10-crore R&D
centre at Jogeshwari, Mumbai, in order to take up research
in drug discovery and novel drug delivery systems (NDDS).
The company had initially planned to convert its formulation
development centre into a biotechnology lab. Unichems
R&D focus in the synthetic chemistry area is focused
on pain management, hypertension, anti-ulcer and gastrointestinal
disorders.