GVK Biosciences, a Hyderabad-based contract research organisation, will be signing one more collaborative research deal during this financial year, taking the total to five.
“We are focusing on three therapeutic areas that include diabetes, pain and inflammation,” Manni Kantipudi, president of GVK Bio told mediapersons here on Tuesday. He, however, declined to spell out the name of the multinational (MNC) or the deal size.
GVK Bio already has collaborative deals with two MNCs, including the one with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, for research in drugs for humans and fungicides. It recently signed two more deals, which are yet to be announced, he added.
As the Indian government does not allow the first-in-man studies (Phase-I clinical trials) for drugs discovered outside of India, Kantipudi said GVK Biosciences, along with other players, had made representations to India’s apex drug regulatory body the Drug Controllers General of India (DCGI).
“The DCGI had said that it will not permit first-in-man studies to be conducted in India at least for the next three years. We will do it (Phase-I clinical trials), if the regulator approves it,” said Shoibal Mukherjee, senior vice-president (clinical development), GVK Bio, adding the company was weighing various options to set up a facility for Phase-I clinical trials outside India. “It will, however, take some time,” he said.