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INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - 1st May To 15th May - 2009
JUBILANT IN R&D DEAL WITH ASTRAZENECA
PHARMACEUTICAL company Jubilant Organosys has entered into an early-stage drug development agreement with Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca which could potentially earn the Delhi-based company over $200 million in milestone fees and royalties from launch of the drugs.
The Indian company will get around $15-20 million as definite payment from AstraZeneca to conduct studies on 4-6 programmes which are in the neuro sciences therapy, company executive director (Finance) R Sankaraiah said. The company's signed the deal through its Bangalore-based subsidiary Jubilant Biosys.
In addition, Jubilant could get milestone payments for taking the programmes to the pre-clinical stages. AstraZeneca will be responsible for conducting the clinical trials and will own the drug. On successful launch of the drug, Jubilant will also get royalties which could be in the range of $150-200 million, Mr Sankaraiah added.
In a joint statement, Jubilant's CMD Shyam Bhartia and co-CMD Hari Bhartia said: "This collaboration will leverage the innovative capabilities of AstraZeneca and Jubilant Biosys in providing a robust global drug discovery model. Through this partnership, Jubilant is confident of contributing to AstraZeneca's pre-clinical portfolio and anticipates significant rewards from successful downstream milestones." Last year, Jubilant formed a 50:50 JV with US-based Eli Lilly to provide drug development services.
AstraZeneca executive VP (Global Discovery) Jan Lundberg said, "It is a concrete example of the innovative approaches we are taking to deliver a sustainable discovery pipeline with a lean and agile organisation. Ultimately, this will provide us with more shots on goal as we look to sustain a competitive portfolio and provide meaningful medicines to patients."
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