DRL, Incyte Genomics in database sharing deal

Our Corporate Bureau

Hyderabad, Nov 20: In a bid to give a major impetus to its research and development efforts, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL) has entered into a collaborative agreement with the US-based Incyte Genomics Inc, a leading genomic information company, enabling the Group to get access to their databases. Under the agreement, DRL and Reddy US, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRL, will have non-exclusive access to Incyte’s significant intellectual portfolio of genes; however, the company has not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.

Reacting on the collaborative agreement, DRL Group chairman Dr K Anji Reddy said, “In this post-genomic era, we recognise that genome-based research is essential for drug discovery”. With the expertise in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry the Group already has, combined with the information contained in the Incyte database, will lead to important new pharmaceutical compounds, a confident Dr Reddy said in a statement. “Researchers at DRL will be able to cross-reference the data from SooSeq and LifeSeq to better predict drug’s behaviour, efficacy and side effects”, Mr Roy A Whitfield CEO of Incyte stated.

Incyte Genomics has two databases - LifeSeq Gold, a gene sequence database and ZooSeq, an animal model database. Incyte has developed genomic technologies designed to aid in the understanding of the molecular basis of disease. The LifeSeq Gold database provides researchers with a comprehensive view of the entire human genome by integrating proprietary ‘expressed sequence tag (EST)’ and full-length gene sequence information, mapping data besides public genomic sequence information. The database contains more than 120,000 gene transcripts of which nearly half are not commercially available elsewhere, the DRL release said.