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Industry Watch
Industry Watch
• Alliance between AGT Biosciences and
Starpharma p.1392
• First Australian Biotech Company to List
on HKSE p.1394
• Breakthrough in Transdermal Drug Discovery
Technology p.1396
• Acrux Licenses MDTS Technology to Eli Lilly got
Animal Health Products p.1398
• Biota Secures SARS Testing Agreement with US
Government Research Agencies p.1400
• SysArris in Bio Partnering Europe 2003 p.1402
• Shantha Bio to Launch Streptokinase by
Year-end p.1403
• Lupin Receives US FDA Approval to Launch
Ceftriaxone p.1404
• MerLion Pharma Collaborates with Schering-Plough
in Drug Discovery Research p.1405
• Quest Pharmaceutical Sets up Taiwanese
Subsidiary p.1406
• BenQ to Invest in Nanjing’s Medical
Facilities p.1406
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
1391
www.asiabiotech.com
Industry Watch
Australia
ALLIANCE
AGT
BETWEEN
BIOSCIENCES AND
A
STARPHARMA
GT Biosciences Limited and Starpharma Pooled Development
Limited has recently announced a collaboration in the
development of drug therapies for Type 2 diabetes.
Both are established Victorian-based biotechnology companies
that will bring complementary skills to the project. AGT Biosciences
will provide detailed understanding of the biology of the disease and
the limitations of current treatments in addition to research strengths
in biological validation of potential new therapeutic drugs. They also
have strong links with major pharmaceutical companies in the area of
diabetes and obesity. Starpharma, on the other hand, brings to the
table their medicinal chemistry expertise, as well drug development
and regulatory experience.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease that affects 1.5 million Australians
and cost national health system AUD3 billion (US$1.85 billion)
annually.
Diabetes: a bloating problem with affluence
Diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the world’s major public health problems. The World Health Organization has
predicted that the number of adults with diabetes in the world will rise from 135 million in 1995 to 300 million in the year
2025; a steep increase. In the Asia-Pacific region alone, the figure is forecasted at 136 million.
A minority of patients suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which is caused by pancreatic beta-cell failure. However, far more
common is the Type 2 diabetes, characterized by tissue resistance of insulin that cannot be overcome by beta-cell
hypersecretion.
Diabetes is among the top 10 causes of death in Westernized societies, and once assumed to be an affluent problem
confined to North America and Europe, there is now a rising incidence of diabetes in the Asia Pacific region as well. In fact,
a study carried out by member of the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration (APCSC) has confirmed for the first time that
populations of Asia and the Pacific is as much as risk of diabetes-related death as the populations of North America and
Europe.
As obesity and physical inactivity increases, so does the rate of diabetes, bringing a growing risk of death and disability,
particularly from heart attacks and strokes. Compared to people without diabetes, diabetics in the region were found to
have twice the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 50% increase in the risk of early non-cardiovascular death and
a two-thirds increase in the risk of death from all causes.
A positive association between obesity and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes has been repeatedly observed in
other cross sectional and prospective studies. Adult weight gain, the degree of obesity and the duration of obesity all
independently predict the risk of Type 2 diabetes, thus it is not surprising that (Type 2) diabetes has been known as a disease
of the affluent.
The study was conducted by 81 investigators from nine regions, from New Zealand and Australia to Taiwan and
Japan, and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the Health Research Council of
New Zealand.
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APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22• 2003
Industry Watch
About
About
An Australian biotechnology company is an
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: AGT) listed drug
discovery company that uses leading edge gene
discovery and validation technologies to identify
novel therapeutic targets for prevalent human
diseases. Their research strengths lies in genomics,
functional genomics and biological validation of
potential new therapeutics, particularly in diabetes
and obesity.
Starpharma Pooled Development Ltd, an ASX
listed company, was established in 1996 to develop
polyvalent nanoscale molecules called dendrimers,
which had been under development by the
Biomolecular Research Institute (BRI) in Melbourne,
Australia, since 1992.
In addition to the commercialization of their
own research results, they also provide services to
biotech and pharmaceutical partners, offering their
eXpress technology platform to accelerate the
validation of genes and proteins as therapeutic leads.
This fee-for-service has attracted significant interest
from biotechnology companies in the US, Europe
and Asia-Pacific.
AGT Biosciences’ diabetes and obesity gene
discovery program has been highly successful, with
over 65 novel genes and proteins in various stages
of patent protection. They have also strong networks
with the international pharmaceutical industry,
including collaborations with the French
pharmaceutical company Merck-Santé and the
Japanese company Kyokuto Pharmaceutical
Industrial.
The CEO of AGT Biosciences, Dr. Greg Collier,
said that the collaboration with Starpharma
enhanced AGT Biosciences’ existing down stream
drug development activities to develop specific drug
candidates against Type 2 diabetes.
The BRI first investigated dendrimers as protein
mimics for pharmaceutical applications, before
licensing the technology to Starpharma Pooled
Development Ltd’s subsidiary company, Starpharma
Ltd (“Starpharma”). Today, Starpharma Pooled
Development Ltd has parallel investments to
develop both pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical applications of dendrimer
nanotechnology.
The CEO of Starpharma, Dr. John Raff, said that
Starpharma is collaborating with AGT Biosciences
to assemble the full range of skills and the critical
size required for an internationally competitive drug
development program. The collaboration with AGT
Biosciences is another example of Starpharma’s
strategy of partnering with developers of worldleading technologies to complement their own.
Contact Details:
Starpharma
Contact Person: Dr. John Raff
Address:
PO Box 6535, St Kilda Rd Central,
VIC 8008, Australia
Tel:
+61 3 8532 2701
Fax:
+61 3 9510 5955
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.starpharma.com
Contact Details:
AGT Biosciences
Contact Person: Dr. Grey Collier (CEO)
Address:
1 Pigdon’s Road, Geelong VIC
3217, Australia
Tel:
+61 3 5227 2752
Fax:
+61 3 5227 1322
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.agtbiosciences.com
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
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Industry Watch
www.asiabiotech.com
First Australian Biotech
Company to List on HKSE
V
ital Biotech became the first Australian biotechnology company to be successfully listed
(Stock Code 1164) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main (HKSE) Board in early
August 2003.
The Victorian biotech company was established in 1998 in recognition of the market potential
of biopharmaceutical products in China. Vital Biotech markets Osteoform Capsules and in five
years, the calcium-based product has become the number one product in China for the prevention
and treatment of osteoporosis, with sales of one million bottles a month.
The decision to list the company on the HKSE was influenced by the importance of their
activities in China and market capitalization levels (HK$600 million or US$77.5 million) that
would place it within the top 10 of biotechnology companies in Australia. Vital Biotech had a
turnover of HK$168 million (US$21.7 million) in 2002, and a profit of HK$41 million (US$5.3
million) from their sales in China.
Other products marketed by the company in China includes Opin, a novel interferon pessary
for chronic erosive cervicitis and genital herpes, and Spray-On Bandage.
Vital Biotech, the commercial arm of the company, has two R&D centers: one in Melbourne,
Australia (Vitapharm Reaearch) and the other in Chengdu, China.
The Melbourne subsidiary, Vitapharm Research, provides downstream value-added
biotechnology processing. It focuses on pharmaceutical development of drug delivery systems
and biopharmaceutical products and their international commercialization. Two platform
technologies had been developed: a protein stabilization and delivery (PSD) through a novel
micro-bioencapsulation process; and a skin drug delivery system (SDDS), which is based on
polymer membranes for a spray-on skin patch. The two technologies, PSD and SDDS, have
resulted in the commercial products Opin and Spray-on Bandage respectively.
Contact Details:
Australia
Address: Business Development, Vitapharm Research
20 Kingsley Close, Rowville, Victoria, Australia, 3178
Tel:
+61 3 9764 1555
Fax:
+61 3 9764 1554
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.vitapharm.com.au
Hong Kong China
Address: 18/F CRE Building 303 Henessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel:
+86 021 6886 8092
Fax:
+86 021 6886 8814
Email:
[email protected]
Shanghai China
Address: RM 12B1, Jiangsu Building, 778 Dongfang Road, Shanghai, P.R. China
Tel:
+86 021 6886 8092
Fax:
+86 021 6886 8814
Email:
[email protected]
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Industry Watch
www.asiabiotech.com
BREAKTHROUGH in
V
ital Health Sciences Ltd (VHS), a Melbourne biotechnology research company, has
demonstrated that morphine can be delivered through the skin using its patented
technology. This has widespread application as a superior drug delivery method for
many other pharmaceutical compounds.
This success builds on previous research at Monash University, where estradiol phosphate
was found to have nearly doubled the rate of transdermal adsorption as estradiol. It was also
noted that the amount of estradiol absorbed when mixed with Vitol IEP was much greater
than any known commercial product. Previously, the VHS technology had been tested
successfully on estrogen, testosterone and atropine.
Morphine is the drug of choice for the relief of severe pain, especially palliative care of
cancer patients, and Australia is one of the largest producers of morphine.
VHS’s research manager, Dr. Esra Ogru said morphine is normally given orally by tablets
or through injections. “Both these methods are usually distressing to long term users. They
cause many side effects such as constipation, vomiting, nausea and shortness of breath.
Additionally, these methods for dispensing morphine lead to fluctuation in pain relief as the
dose cannot be given on a constant basis.
He added, “Many of these shortcomings can be overcome by delivering morphine through
the skin. It will reduce the side effects, be more convenient, reduce the length of many patients’
hospitalization and improve quality of life. Most importantly, as morphine is capable of being
administered through a patch using VHS’s patented technology, the amount of morphine
given to patients can be kept at a steady level thereby giving constant pain relief to sufferers.”
VHS’s (commercial) director Harry Rosen said that the Monash study is a substantial
breakthrough given the current difficulty in delivering morphine through the skin. This is
because drugs with high melting points, such as morphine (254oC), do not penetrate the
stratum corneum (outer layer of the skin) well.
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Industry Watch
Transdermal Drug Delivery Technology
Transdermal Administration
Transdermal administration of drugs can be used as an alternative to oral delivery. Major advantages of
transdermal administration include compliance, consistency of blood levels and reduced toxicity.
Transdermal patches have the capacity to allow for a constant delivery of small doses of a drug so that a
constant and steady level is maintained in the bloodstream. Oral administration of drugs causes peaks and
troughs of drug concentrations in the body. The risk in the oral administration of many drugs is that the peak
may lead to side effects and the trough may lead to a breakthrough of the condition being treated. Transdermal
delivery of drugs is also useful for delivering drugs that require sustained blood levels.
However, the skin acts as a natural barrier to substances, and delivery of drug molecules across the skin
is normally inefficient and often ineffective. Approaches developed to address these limitations include physical
disruption of the stratum corneum with electrical, ultrasound or microneedles techniques, or less invasive
techniques using chemicals. Of the former, only microneedles show promise, and even then, they have
limited application possibilities. Patches, gels and creams, and sprays (such as the metered-dose transdermal
spray or MDTS®) appear to be the favored direction in which transdermal drug-delivery technology research
is headed.
Current drug delivery theory assumes that transportation of drugs across human cell membrane in the
intestinal wall and through the skin is passive. In other words, the drug simply diffuses across the cell
membrane.
In VHS’s research, they initially conjectured and then demonstrated through its clinical trials, that certain
lipophilic compounds when phosphorylated, can exploit the body’s natural active transport system, and can
thus pass through the intestinal membranes or the skin. In many instances the body will actually add a
phosphate to a molecule in order to store it or move it about the body.
Contact Details:
Vital Health Sciences Ltd
Contact Person: Dr. Esra Ogru (Research Manager)
Tel:
+61 0402 080 846
URL:
www.vitalhs.com
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
1397
Industry Watch
www.asiabiotech.com
Acrux Licenses MDTS
Technology to Eli Lilly for
Animal Health Products
Melbourne
A
crux DDS Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acrux Limited, and Eli Lilly and Company, through
its division Elanco Animal Health, have signed a global license, development and commercialization
agreement for animal health indications using MDTS, Acrux’s proprietary transdermal drug delivery
technology
Acrux will receive technology access fees and possible milestone fees through product launch. Under
the agreement, Elanco will conduct and/or fund related product development activities. Additionally, Acrux
will receive royalties from future sales of products arising out of the collaboration.
“We are very pleased to be able to work with a leading innovator in animal healthcare to develop and
commercialize valuable products for the companion and production animal businesses,” said Igor Gonda,
Managing Director and CEO of Acrux.
He continued, “After Elanco conducted an evaluation exploring the use of Acrux’s technology, they
decided to pursue development for a range of animal healthcare therapeutics. We believe that, by partnering
with Elanco, we will be able to offer attractive alternatives to oral delivery and injections for animals.”
What is MDTS technology?
MDTS stands for Metered Dose Transdermal System, Acrux’s proprietary spray system for transdermal
drug delivery. It is a small spray device that offers a novel means of administering drugs via the skin as an
alternative to oral or injected dosing. MDTS is used in conjunction with:
ACROSS penetration enhancers — a common sunscreen which assist the passage of drugs across the
skin; and the Patchless Patch delivery method, a drug formulation containing ACROSS enhancers which is
used to create a reservoir of drug in the skin from an aerosol or liquid spray.
How is MDTS used?
A solution of an existing drug and Across enhancers is added to a small vial fitted to the MDTS applicator.
The MDTS applicator is gently placed against the skin and a simple depression of a button on the device
causes the delivery of an accurate dose of the drug to the area of skin covered by the applicator. The drug
formulation disappears from the surface of the skin in a minute or so and a single administration typically
provides medication for a day.
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Acrux has a number of products in development including those with its partners for the management of:
severe pain; disorders affecting the central nervous system such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases,
nausea and anxiety; hormone therapy; female androgen insufficiency; urinary incontinence; and aging skin.
Applications of MDTS-based treatments in veterinary science
Most of the disorders of biological systems that cause disease in humans have a parallel in the animal
world, which is why testing in animal models is usually an early step in the development of a new drug
destined for human application.
Traditionally, the dosing of companion and production (or agricultural) animals with existing formulations,
particularly those designed for oral administration, has been associated with inherent difficulties. For drugs
that are normally administered to animals orally or by injection, the successful adaptation of Acrux’s MDTSrelated technologies will overcome the problems of stressful application to animals. For drugs that are currently
applied by traditional transdermal methods, Acrux’s technology will improve the applicability of such
treatments.
About Elanco Animal Health
Elanco Animal Health, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, US, is one of the world’s leading animal health
companies. Elanco discovers, develops and markets innovative technologies for use in animal production,
care, disease prevention and treatment. Elanco is a global animal health company with facilities located to
serve the global marketplace.
About Acrux Limited
Acrux Limited’s group of companies is engaged in the development of proprietary transdermal and
cosmeceutic products using technology licensed from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. The Acrux
product portfolio also includes treatments for hormonal deficiencies, pain, anxiety, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease, nausea and urinary incontinence using its proprietary ACROSS® enhancers, MDTS® applicators and
Patchless Patch™ delivery method. In addition to the projects funded internally, Acrux has a research and
development collaboration with Pharmacia (recently acquired by Pfizer Inc.) and it has also sub-licensed its
technology for anti-psoriatics and local anesthetics to Connetics Australia Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of the US
company Connetics.
Contact Details:
Acrux Limited
Elanco
Address: Acrux Limited, 103-113 Stanley Street, West
Melbourne , VIC 3003, Australia
Address:
16 Giffnock Avenue, Macquarie Park,
NSW 2113, Australia
Tel:
+61 3 8379 0100
Tel:
+61 2 9878 7777
Fax:
+61 3 8379 0101
Fax:
+61 2 9878 7720
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.elanco.com
URL:
www.acrux.com.au
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
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Industry Watch
Applications of MDTS-based treatments in human medicine
Industry Watch
www.asiabiotech.com
Biota Secures SARS
Testing Agreement with
B
iota Holdings Limited (ASX:BTA) announced today that it had executed an agreement
with two US government agencies — the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID) and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
(USAMRIID) — to test Biota’s antiviral compounds for activity against SARS.
Under the agreement, which runs for three years, Biota will send selected compounds to
USAMRIID, or in some cases to companies contracted by NIAID or USAMRIID, to undertake
testing for activity against clinical isolates of the SARS virus. Because SARS is a serious, contagious
viral disease, only a small number of facilities worldwide are adequately equipped for handling
and testing of the virus. In addition to SARS, under the agreement Biota’s compounds will be
evaluated also as potential treatments for other serious viral infections, including Smallpox.
Biota CEO Peter Molloy said, “We have been working toward this agreement for several
months. Now we can start assessing our existing compounds for possible activity against SARS.”
Biota is Australia’s leading antiviral drug discovery company and has a suite of potential
viral inhibitors assembled over many years of antiviral research, many of which will be tested
under the agreement. Initially, the Company plans to send approximately 40 selected
representative compounds for evaluation.
“If any of these prove to be active, our plan would be to modify them structurally with a
goal to enhance their activity and then resubmit them for further testing,” said Dr. Simon Tucker,
head of Biota’s research group in Australia. “Of course, we may well find that none of them in
this first set display any useful activity.”
In addition to the testing of existing compounds in the United States, Biota will be conducting
research in Australia into potential new drugs for SARS.
“Our SARS drug discovery program is at a very early stage, but our aim is to try to design
potential drugs by targeting key proteins of the virus,” Dr. Tucker added. This is the same ‘Structure
Based Drug Design’ approach Biota used to discover RelenzaT and which underpins the
Company’s common cold and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) drug discovery programs.
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APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22• 2003
About Biota
Biota has its headquarters in Melbourne and is one of Australia’s leading drug discovery biotech companies,
with a track record of success in viral respiratory diseases. Biota’s first breakthrough was the discovery of
neuraminidase inhibitors, leading to the worldwide launch of Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline in 1999. Relenza
remains the only Australian drug to be taken all the way from discovery to registration and marketing. Biota’s
other viral respiratory disease programs include FLUNEb (long-acting neuraminidase inhibitors), the FLU
OIA®c diagnostic assay, RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus responsible for some lower respiratory infections),
and HRV (Human Rhinovirus, a key virus responsible for the common cold).
The HRV program was supported by an AusIndustry R&D Start grant that concluded in 2001, and in May
2003, Biota announced a second AUD2.7 million Start grant in support of its RSV development program.
Also in May 2003, the Company announced an important licensing agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical
giant Sankyo, which is expected to accelerate FLUNET partnering activities. Biota is also currently seeking to
expand sales of the FLU OIA diagnostic into Asia and Europe.
Contact Details:
Biota Holdings
Contact Person: Tim Duncan, Hinton & Associates
Tel:
+61 3 9600 1979 / 9529 2311
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.biota.com.au
a
TM Relenza is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of Companies.
b
Inc TM FLUNET is a registered trademark of Biota Scientific Management Pty Ltd.
c
FLU OIA® is a registered trademark of Thermo BioStar.
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
1401
Industry Watch
US Government
Research Agencies
www.asiabiotech.com
Industry Watch
India
SysArris in
Bio Partnering Europe 2003
S
ysArris is introducing its new platform for maximizing High Throughput Screening (HTS) at the 11th
Annual Bio Partnering Europe conference (12–14 Oct, 2003) in London.
A leading genomics and chemoinformatics service provider that provides comprehensive solutions to
the life science community, SysArris actively participates in various events and conferences worldwide like
the BioTechnica 2003, at Hanover, Germany and the Bio Partnering Europe at London, UK. At BioTechnica
(18–20 Oct, 2003), SysArris showcased its siRNA design tool ‘PinDrop’.
The company is not new to Bio Partnering as it has been participating in this event for the past two years
in North America as well as Europe. At the inaugural Bio Partnering North America conference in February
2003, SysArris was amongst the few select open house presenters. SysArris has made its presence felt worldwide
with offices located in Stamford Connecticut, USA, and Munich, Germany.
Maximizing HTS
Recently, SysArris has been working on a new platform for Virtual Screening that would enable Pharma
companies to complement the ADME and Toxicity stages of the drug life cycle. The platform would be a
unified approach to screening, validation, secondary screening and lead generation. The tool, based on
Artificial Intelligence, would be customizable and include compound and assay management modules. It
would help track and maintain current HTS projects, and also aid in comparing and analyzing pre and post
HTS data with virtual screening data.
About SysArris
Headquartered in Bangalore, India SysArris has been providing bioinformatics and offshore software
development services to pharma & biotech companies and research organizations in the US and Europe for
the last nine years. It specializes in offering consulting and custom development services with a focus on
Genomics, Clinical Genomics, Chemoinformatics, and IT outsourcing. SysArris aims at serving its clients as
an extension of their informatics team.
Contact Details:
Sysarris Software Pvt Ltd
Contact Person: C.V. Mukundan, General Manager, Marketing
Address:
No 120 A, Elephant Rock Road,
Jayanagar-III Block, Bangalore-560 011, India
Tel:
+91 80 663 6785 / 665 5052 / 665 5165
Fax:
+91 80 665 0374
Email:
[email protected]
1402
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22• 2003
Industry Watch
Shantha Bio to
Launch Streptokinase
by Year-end
H
yderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics plans to launch its brand
of the clot-buster drug Streptokinase by the end of this year. The
company is expecting regulatory clearances for streptokinase
shortly, after which it will commence manufacture of the product.
Streptokinase is the primary drug for dissolving blood clots. It is used
in case of acute heart attacks and other conditions like deep vein
thrombosis, arterial occlusions and pulmonary embolism.
According to sources from the company, the company plans to launch
the product at “a very competitive price”. This launch could trigger off a
price war for a drug that currently retails at anywhere between Rs800
(US$18) to over Rs3,500 (US$78).
Recently, Bharat Biotech, another Hyderabad-based company
obtained a manufacturing and marketing license for recombinant
streptokinase. Bharat Biotech also plans to launch a more economically
priced product compared to the currently imported ones.
Although the companies have not revealed details of their pricing
strategy, consumers can expect to get the product at a much lower price
with the launch of these two brands.
Streptokinase might be the third biological product to witness a price
war in the domestic market. Recently, insulin met with a similar fate with
the entry of products from Indian players. Earlier, Hepatitis-B vaccines
also saw significant price cuts with the entry of Shantha Biotech’s
indigenously developed vaccine — Shanvac.
The streptokinase product will be Shantha Biotech’s third product.
The company launched its oncology product, human interferon alpha,
five years after its Hepatitis-B vaccine entered the market.
Company officials claim that there are a slew of products that will be
launched during the next year. These include erythropoeitin, which is
expected to be launched early next year. The company is also working on
other interferons, which are still in early stages of development.
Contact Details:
Shanta Biotechnics
Address: 3rd Floor, Serene Chambers, Road No.7, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, 500 034, India
Tel:
+91 40 2354 3010
Fax:
+91 40 2354 8476
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.shanthabiotech.com
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
1403
Industry Watch
www.asiabiotech.com
L
upin Receives US FDA Approval to
aunch Ceftriaxone
M
umbai-based pharma company Lupin is in advanced stages of negotiations
with various companies in the US for the distribution of ceftriaxone, an
injectable antibiotic.
The antibiotic is the generic equivalent of Rocephin, which is marketed by Roche.
Lupin plans to launch the product in the US after its patent expires in July 2005. The
market size of the product is estimated to be US$655 million.
Lupin Chairman Dr. D. B. Gupta said that the company plans to use three different
channels for distributing and marketing. “We are looking at marketing and distribution
to hospitals, direct to doctors and to the trade and we may tie up with different
companies for each of these.”
“We are the only company to have filed an (ANDA) abbreviated new drug
application for this product and we might not have any competition for this product
because the entry barriers are high,” Dr. Gupta said.
The company’s ceftriaxone sterile vials for injection has been approved by the US
FDA recently. Ceftriaxone is a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic and is used for
urinary tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections, meningitis, skin infections,
surgical prophylaxis, intra-abdominal infections and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Currently, the company has a tie-up with Watson, an American generics company,
which is now marketing, selling and distributing Lupin’s cefuroxime axetil.
Lupin has also received US FDA approval for another ANDA for cefotaxime vials.
It has tied up with American Pharma Partners for the product.
The company is also expecting approval of cefixime tablets and suspension. Lupin
will be launching the product under the brand name Suprax.
Contact Details:
Lupin Limited
Address:
Tel:
Fax:
URL:
1404
159 CST Road, Kalina, Santacruz (E), Mumbai 400 098, India
+91-22-5693-1011
+91-22-2654-0484
www.lupinworld.com/about.htm
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22• 2003
Industry Watch
Singapore
MerLion Pharma
Collaborates with Schering-Plough
in Drug Discovery Research
M
erLion Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd. (MerLion Pharma), a Singapore-based drug discovery company,
has recently announced a three-year research collaboration with Schering-Plough Research
Institute (SPRI), the pharmaceutical research and development arm of Schering-Plough
Corporation.
Under terms of the agreement, SPRI will provide a broad range of high-throughput assays for drug
targets that MerLion Pharma will screen against its extensive collection of natural product samples. SPRI
will be responsible for the progression of lead compounds through development and will have worldwide
rights to any products resulting from the collaboration.
MerLion will be entitled to milestone payments from SPRI as well as royalties on sales of any products
resulting from the collaboration. MerLion will retain rights to discoveries that SPRI does not select for
further development.
“We look forward to a productive research collaboration, building on SPRI’s drug discovery technologies
and MerLion’s comprehensive natural product library,” said Dr. Tony Buss, CEO of MerLion Pharma. “The
unique chemical diversity found in our natural product library represents a key component of the
collaboration.”
About SPRI
Schering-Plough Corporation of Kenilworth, N. J., US, is a research-based company engaged in the
discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products worldwide.
About MerLion Pharma
MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd. (MerLion Pharma) is a privately held Singapore-based company
focusing on the discovery and development of new drug candidates from natural sources. The company’s
assets and capabilities include an outstanding natural product sample collection, advanced high-throughput
screening technology, assay development and medicinal chemistry capabilities. MerLion Pharma collaborates
with leading pharmaceutical companies and research institutes to identify and develop drug leads in a
wide range of therapeutic areas.
In addition to SPRI the company currently has collaboration agreements with Abbott Laboratories,
Athelas SA, British Biotech, Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Genome Therapeutics, Johns Hopkins
(Singapore) Pte. Ltd., KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Co., the National Cancer Center (Singapore)
and NovImmune SA.
Contact Details:
MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd
Contact Person: Dr. Tony Buss (President & CEO)
Address:
59A Science Park Drive, The Fleming, Singapore Science Park, Singapore 118240
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.merlionpharma.com
APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22 • 2003
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www.asiabiotech.com
N e w s
Quest Pharmaceutical Sets up Taiwanese Subsidiary
Quest Pharmaceutical Services, a drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics research
laboratory based in the US, announced plans to establish a Taiwanese subsidiary to provide
clinical test services. Located in the Nangang Biotechnology Industry Park in Taipei, the new
subsidiary will provide services to pharmaceutical producers such as GlaxoSmithKline and
AstraZeneca, and will focus first on the toxicology experiment, drug metabolism and
pharmacokinetics markets. The new company would seek research partnerships with Taiwan’s
Development Center for Biotechnology.
B r i e f
Industry Watch
Taiwan
Founded by Benjamin Chien, Quest Pharmaceutical has enjoyed rapid growth and is
expected to reach revenues of up to US$15.5 million this year — with companies like Pfizer,
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough likely to join the firm’s service list. GlaxoSmithKline
is currently the company’s main customer — contributing to about 10% of Quest’s revenue —
and the second largest is AstraZeneca, with a strategic alliance recently set up between Quest
and West Pharmaceuticals as well that brought a new customer to the firm, Eli Lilly. The company
is optimistic about its future business in Taiwan and Asia, despite the failure of several larger
contract research organizations to achieve the desired results.
Contact Details:
Quest Pharmaceutical Services
Address: Delaware Technology Park, Three
Innovation Way, Suite 240 Newark,
Delaware, 19711
Tel:
+1 302 369 5601
Fax:
+1 302 369 5602
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
www.questpharm.com/index1.htm
BenQ to Invest in Nanjing’s Medical Facilities
With plans to pour investments of up to US$10 million into a medical facility in Nanjing,
China, the Taiwanese electronics company BenQ hopes to find partners to jointly build the
facility, as regulations in China forbid foreign companies to have complete ownership of medical
facilities on the mainland. To be completed in three years after the company obtains official
approval, the medical center will be set up by BenQ’s Malaysian subsidiary — with the company
planning to remit the US$10 million investment in separate installments. BenQ spokesman
You Ke-yung said that the company “have been promoting the BenQ brand in mainland China
and hope to raise the image of the company by investing in the country’s medical industry”.
BenQ’s investment should come as good news for Nanjing’s native population of 5–6
million, as the company will be seeking local professionals to work for the new facility. The
investment was BenQ’s first substantive move into the biotechnology industry, as the firm plans
to propose designs for biotech-enabled devices such as a speedometer handset intended for
power walkers. BenQ is considerating establishing a research and development center in
Nanjing, adding to similar facilities already set up in Taiwan, the US and Suzhou. You added
that the company is currently seeking approval for setting up a cultural foundation in Taiwan as
well, to fulfill its corporate citizen role of giving back to the community.
Contact Details:
BenQ Corporation
Tel:
+886 0800 027 427
Email: web [email protected]
URL: www.benq.com
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APBN • Vol. 7 • No. 22• 2003