Syngene International and Innate Pharmaceuticals collaborate to develop virulence blockers

06-Sep-2006

Syngene International Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Biocon Limited and Innate Pharmaceuticals AB have concluded a cooperation agreement to jointly develop, manufacture and market virulence blockers to counteract bacterial diarrhoeal disease. Virulence blockers are a new class of drugs that could become an alternative to antibiotics.

Clinical studies of therapeutic effect will be conducted over the next three years and a candidate drug will be developed to the stage of a limited Phase II study in patients with diarrhoeal disease. Once therapeutic effect is demonstrated, Syngene will carry out further clinical studies enabling the virulence blocker to be registered as a drug for the treatment of bacterial diarrhoeal disease. Innate Pharmaceuticals will have European marketing rights, while Syngene will have rights to other parts of the world market. Each company will receive royalties on the sales conducted by the other.

Besides speeding virulence blockers towards the clinical phase, this cooperation greatly reduces Innate Pharmaceuticals' risk exposure and provides the company with the financial capacity to further develop virulence blocking drugs. Additional resources will also allow Innate Pharmaceuticals to strengthen the patent protection for its virulence blockers.

Virulence blockers disarm certain bacteria, rendering them incapable of causing disease, without affecting the body's normal bacterial flora, thus reducing the risk that the bacteria will develop resistance to the drug. With virulence blockers yet to reach the market, it is crucial that the two companies demonstrate that these drugs can prevent or cure human infectious disease.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/57650/syngene-international-and-innate-pharmaceuticals-collaborate-to-develop-virulence-blockers.html