GVK Biosciences Pvt Ltd, engaged in delivering scientific services, is upbeat on collaborative research. Having signed agreements with two MNCs-Wyeth and Dow Agrosciences–for collaborating on new molecules and fungicide, the company has inked pacts with two more MNCs in this area. The company will be offering scientific services and help them take to clinical trials.
According to Manni Kantipudi, president of GVK Biosciences, one more deal was expected to be signed with an MNC by the end of this fiscal. He said that the services would be in one of the three identified therapeutic areas–diabetes, pain management and inflammation.
To start with, the company has GVK Bio Wyeth Hyderabad Chemistry Centre, a built-to-suit research unit for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Hyderabad. GVK Bio and Wyeth entered into a collaborative research agreement and the current activities include the synthesis of reference standards, building blocks, intermediates, analogues, focused libraries and screening libraries. The company is responsible for designing synthetic routes for new molecules, carrying out synthesis and characterisation of target molecules for Wyeth.
Meanwhile, the company is mulling to provide services for phase I trials if the regulatory climate becomes conducive. The clinical trial industry in the country has already created a momentum and the need has been felt for conducting phase I trials in the country. Since these trials are being conducted in designated centres, the company is keeping options open for tapping this market as well.
When asked if GVK would open a designated centre outside India, Kantipudi ascertained that it was keeping all options, even an acquisition if the need arises. According to Shoibal Mukherjee, senior vice-president-clinical development, it was important to conduct phase I trials in the country as it describes the pharmacokinetics.
Incidentally, many contract research organisations are going outside India to open designated centres for conducting the same, he elaborated. In order to make India a global innovation hub by 2020, it is imperative to have permission for conducting phase I trials in the country, he iterated.