Mumbai, Nov 8: Genomed, the subsidiary of Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL), would track the diabetes gene as the first project, with other therapeutic areas under focus being cardiovasculor, malaria, schizophrenia, asthma and diagnostics. At the inauguration of the Clinical Research Centre, which is a venture to conduct genomics research, NPIL director Swati Piramal said that GenoMed's three-way approach towards diabetes would be "to search the candidate gene followed by genome wide scan (bioinformatics) and would be concluded with the analysis of animal models."Diabetes, found among 6 per cent of the US population and 20 per cent of the urban Indian men, affects 135 million people worldwide and is likely to reach around 300 million by 2035, she said. The Clinical Research Centre is the first in India enabling Indian pharma companies too conduct clinical trials at 70 per cent of cost incurred globally.
GenoMed is a knowledge collaboration between NPIL and the Centre for Biochemical Technology (CBT) for the advancement of genomics and pharmacogenomics.
Genomics is a process of creating gene-based drugs and therapies starting from gene sequencing, analysis and interpretation to drug development. It establishes the association between an illness and the genetic code causing the illness.
The agreement between NPIL and CBT is for a period of nine years with NPIL to pay Rs 7.9 crore as technology fees to CBT for the first three years, said Ms Piramal.
The company stands to gain through the first mover advantage and plans to have its return on investment from bioinformatics in a year's time, Ms Piramal said. Investment returns from diagnostic/gene on a chip would take around two to three years while medical applications/databases would take around three to five years, Ms Piramal added. GenoMed would have a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with three nominees from CBT and NPIL each.
The SAB would decide and approve research projects considering the financial angle, CBT director SK Brahmachari said.
CBT will not have any equity stake in GenoMed but would license its trademark, copyrights and earn royalty by way of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). The arrangement with NPIL is not exclusive, however, GenoMed would have exclusivity over the domains on which research would be jointly undertaken, Dr Brahmachari added.
The project would involve the development of new medicines based on the Genome sequence and the study of the genetic base of traditional Indian medicines. Financials will be presented by the next quarter with formal launches of specific projects, Ms Piramal said.
The benefits of the genomics research would be felt significantly over the next two to five years with the integration of genomics research with NCE research, she added.
The genomic initiative is one facet of an overall strategy to bring the company forward to be a global player, she said.
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