The genetic study of the Parsi population, taken up by the Bangalore-based biotechnology company, Avesthagen, has made some headway. Initiated in 2007, the Rs 125-crore project— Avestagenome — has begun research on the 3,000 blood samples collected so far, and the scientists working on the project have been able to identify early biomarkers for breast cancer.
“We have worked on breast cancer in a set of 24 women and have been able to identify biomarkers. These early markers have the potential to become valid biomarkers, provided they are substantiated by larger study” said Sami Guzder, head of the science and innovation division at Avesthagen.
A biomarker is a substance whose detection in a human’s body indicates a particular disease state. It can be a fragment of a DNA sequence that causes disease. Identifying a valid biomarker for breast cancer will ultimately pave way for finding novel drugs for the disease, which has a high incidence among Parsi women, said Villoo Morawala Patell, founder and CMD, Avesthagen.
Avesthagen recently formed an alliance with the Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) department of genetics for the development of Avestagenome project. The company has done population stratification work in collaboration with HMS. From the early work it found that the Parsi population can be stratified as a distinct population. As the population is unique, finding novel drugs is expected to be easier and authentic than with a heterogeneous population.
Parsi Zoroastrians are an in-bred population resulting from marriages within the community. Ailments like cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzhiemer’s are found to be at an unusually high rates in the population, and are caused by inherited genes. Fears loom large that the community is heading towards extinction as the number of Indian Parsis which was more than 100,000 in 1940s, has now fallen to about 60,000. Globally, the Parsi population is estimated around 200,000. High incidence of diseases and longevity characterises the population.
Avesthagen’s aim is to explore the genetic basis of longevity and create a genetic and medical database of the Parsi-Zoroastrian population. So far, over 3,000 blood samples have been collected from Parsis residing in Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Surat and Navsari.
“The project suffered a slight setback in the last six months owing to economic downturn,” said Patell. In the next phase, sample collection drive will be launched in Mumbai by July first week where a majority of Parsis live. The target is to collect 20,000 samples for the entire project.
“We have to be aggressive in building the sample pool as the community is rapidly vanishing,” Patell noted, who herself is a Parsi.
The project aims to generate revenues by licencing early discoveries to partners. “Markers will be commercialised and patents filed. Further studies will be done with partners, and the studies will result in products which will create revenues,” said Patell.
Avesthagen, which has raised Rs 300 crore since it started in 2001, had to shelve its IPO plans last year due to the unfavourable market conditions. The company is backed by investors like ICICI Ventures Funds, Danone Group, Fidility International and New York Life Investment Management India. Looking ahead, its strategy is to look for more PE funds in the short run and IPO in the medium term, Patell pointed out.
Avesthagen has four strategic busines units — biopharmaceuticals, bionutrition, bioagricuture and, science and innovation. The company generates revenues through strategic partnerships where IP in each of its divisions is licensed at an early stage. Last fiscal, the revenues were to the tune of Rs 44 crore.
“Revenue generation this year will continue through licencing and partnering. However, by October 2010, our products will start yielding revenues,” she said.
Danone, Limagrain, Nestle, AstraZeneca, Cipla, Godrej are some of its key partners. Avesthagen has 40 products ready across divisions, and among them, Teestar, a bioactive for diabetes under the Good Earth brand is already in the market. Its second product, a drug for treating anaemia, will enter clinical trials soon and will hit the market by 2010.
