IBPL signs R

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Ahmedabad, May 30: City-based biopharmaceutical major Intas Biopharmaceuticals Limited (IBPL) has entered into a strategic research and development (R&D) agreement with US-based Virionics Corporation for development of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV-16 and HPV-18) therapeutic vaccine, useful for treatment of cervical cancer. The collaboration provides unique technology transfer opportunity, along with exclusive marketing rights, to IBPL for supply of product in India and certain key markets, a company release said here.

The development of HPV therapeutic will be based on the virus-like particle technology supplied by Virionics. The initiative will serve IBPL's purpose to explore novel R&D technologies for development of new bio-therapeutic products. As a part of commitment towards the agreement, major part of the funding shall be done by IBPL. The exclusive advisors to the deal was Genesis Management Consultancy along with its partners Technomark USA.

''Both the companies will jointly initiate a development programme and create a development committee, comprising members of the two companies, which will be responsible for creating, modifying and monitoring the programme,'' Mani Iyer, director of IBPL, was quoted as saying in the release.

The committee will be responsible for providing strategic pre-clinical, manufacturing and clinical study and simultaneously execute a clinical programme to support the combination product.

Additionally, IBPL will have the first option to be a contract manufacturing supplier of the product, for India and other markets.

Process development and yield improvement activities will be carried out at IBPL, Mr Iyer said.

IBPL, through its 100 per cent subsidiary Indus Biotherapeutics, has successfully completed clinical trials of three biotechnology drugs -- G-CSF, Erythropoietin and Interferon, which are now in markets. The trained and experienced research team at IBPL has adequate therapeutic expertise especially in process and product development, analytical method development, bio-chemical immunological analysis, process validation, scale-up and technology transfer to manufacturing scale.

Commenting on the execution of the agreement, IBPL Chief Technical Officer and Head (R&D) Dr Dhananjay Patankar said ''The development programme will have milestones related to drug development, manufacturing, patenting, regulatory affairs and all other relevant activities. IBPL has been given right to use programme assets during the agreement period to conduct the development programme. During the term of agreement, Virionics and IBPL will jointly own all rights, titles and interests in any joint discoveries in their respective territories. Considering the increasing rate of cervical cancer in India, IBPL may explore several social government initiatives in future for commercialisation of the product. It is noteworthy that cervical cancer is highly prevalent in Indian women with 80 per cent caused by HPV infection,'' he added.

UNI

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