Roche in molecule licensing parleys

Roche Scientific Company (India), the 100 per cent Indian arm of the Swiss drug major F Hoffmann-La Roche, is in talks with leading Indian pharmaceutical companies for in-licensing molecules in the in fields of oncology, virology, nephrology. At the same time, the company is also scouting for partners to market its range of dermatolgy and osteoporosis products.

Indian research-based drug majors initiate basic research and look at licensing out their molecule to multinationals at a pre-clinical trail stage.

The idea is not only to ensure financial strength to lead the drug development process to its final stage, licensing molecule to a multinational also contributes a great deal to the company's research-based bottomline.

GL Telang, managing director, Roche Scientific Company (India) said, "For the next five years, bio-technology would be our prime focus in India. On the research and development (R&D) front, we would be more active in development and less in basic research. We are looking at co-development and in licensing molecules from the Indian companies."

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, for instance, had in the recent past licensed out three molecules to Novartis and Novo Nordisk and Ranbaxy Laboratories had licensed out its NDDS (New Drug Delivery System) product to Bayer.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is also understood to have plans to license its asthma molecule for further development and for clinical trials.

Meanwhile, as the company's well-defined India strategy, Roche India is set to launch five drugs in the domestic market from its parent's portfolio in a short while.

These blockbuster anti-cancer drugs include "" Bondronate (a drug for the treatment of bone-metastasis), Velcyte (for the treatment of cytomegalovirus""an infection commonly attracking human immune virus (HIV), Cancer and transplant patients), Tarceva (a lung cancer drug) Fuzeon (an HIV anti-retroviral drug) and Avastin (a colorectal cancer drug).