Country's second-largest drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories is looking for partners to develop its New Chemical Entity (NCE), an anti-cholesterol molecule, a top executive of the company said here today.
"We will have a partner to take it forward. Right now, the cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor is into Phase-II...," GV Prasad, vice chairman and CEO, Dr Reddy's, said on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting held here today.
Roche and Merck are developing an analogous molecule and are in Phase-III trials, and through this, Dr Reddy's will become the third company in the world in the CETP inhibitor segment.
The company had earlier admitted that another NEC Balaglitazone, an anti-diabetic molecule on which the company had spent considerable time and money hit dead end, as no company came forward to take the molecule forward after Phase-II trials.
"Most of the DRL problems are they took up molecules from old school of products and they will have to take from new areas like cancer where they can have a good market," Surajt Pal of Elara Securities, said.
DRL should concentrate more on developing bio-similars, where there will be immediate returns, Pal added.
The company has earmarked nearly 7.5% of sales for R&D in this fiscal.
CETP, which has completed its first phase, is said to have produced favourable results.
Earlier in the day, addressing the shareholders in the 27th AGM, K Anji Reddy, founder-Chairman of the company, said work is in progress on over 20 products, including NCE.
"Our own R&D efforts are scaling up and moving in the right direction. We are working on over 20 products including NCE. The foremost in the NCE programme is CETP inhibitor which has recently moved to Phase-II trials," the company said.
