Mumbai-based drug discovery company Actis Biologics (ABPL) has acquired the cancer drug discovery assets of US-based CellPoint Diagnostics for an undisclosed amount.
ABPL and its US parent, Actis Biologics, acquired about 15 patents and related assets for the technology platform Ligand Linker Drug Delivery (LLD) system, which can revolutionise chemotherapy for cancers with specific target therapy and less toxicity.
The technology was acquired a few years ago by CellPoint Diagnostics — a $100-million company that develops new generation diagnostic tools for cancers — from another US based drug discovery company Cellworks.
“We did this acquisition through a combination of internal accruals, equity and royalty terms. Dr Robert Duff, one of the co-inventors of this product, will join us,” said Sanjeev Saxena, chairman and founder of Actis Biologics.
He said the product targets a market potential of about $15 billion for various forms of cancer upon commericialisation. It has already completed preclinical studies in the US and will soon enter phase-I clinical trials in India, the US and Europe. The US Food and Drug Adnministration(FDA) has granted ‘orphan drug status’ for the product, which means faster commercialisation and assistance in the form of grants upto $5.00,000 per annum. Saxena said ABPL hopes to commercialise the product within three years, thanks to the orphan drug status.
The FDA may allow clubbing of second and third phase of clinical trials on a patient population of 40-50 patients, compared to 300 plus volunteers for Phase III clinical trials.
Both kidney and liver cancer are not common in the US and Europe and this could accelerate the approval process. Actis is also working on ‘Angiozyme,’ a potential drug for the treatment of colonic cancer, which it acquired from the Merck Group company Sirna Therapeutics, a few years ago. The drug will soon enter the Phase III last stage clinical trials in Malaysia and India, and later in the US. Actis is also developing a Gene Therapy programme for the treatment of breast cancer and prostrate cancer and is working with leading drug researchers in the US to develop an immunotherapy programme that can fight infectious diseases like AIDS.
By next year, the company plans to launch its first product - VFF2, a technology platform that could reduce the cost of manufacturing of several biotech drugs, food and beverage products by about 80 per cent, said sources.
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Actis Biologics and its parent company Actis Biologics Inc, follows a unique model of floating separate incubation companies under its umbrella for the various technologies and products under development, with Actis holding a majority stake.
Actis is also developing a ‘Biocity’ in Malaysia, in association with the Malaysian Government.