Suven Life in research talks with US firms

Suven Life Sciences Ltd, a Hyderabad-based company, which provides contract research, manufacturing and drug discovery support services, is in collaborative research talks with two US-based life sciences companies.

"One of the life sciences companies we are nogotiating with has turnover of around $25 billion. Our company could be the first in the country to take up such initiative," said Venkateswarlu Jasti, vice-chairman and managing director, Suven Life Sciences.

The company has a 190-member research and development (R&D) team. Of this, 120 people are engaged in drug discovery.

In 2005-06, the company's (R&D) spent was over Rs 14 crore, accounting for 23.67 per cent of its turnover.

Jasti said a US-based company, the name of which he declined to disclose, took 15 months to agree for the research.

He was happy that the innovator companies have started looking at the country more seriously post legislation providing for protection of intellectual property rights.

"Cost, opportunity, intellectual property and extension of research and development will be the major component of the research. In fact, by undertaking collaborative research, Suven will become an extension of R&D facility for the US company," he said.

Jasti is also bullish on drug discovery and development support services that his company undertakes.

"With average cost to develop a drug being about $800 million, it makes immense sense to offshore a part of these services to India," he said.

Suven had, so far, filed 39 product patents, all in the therapeutic area of central nervous system.

Jasti said that six big and two small pharmaceutical companies had so far come forward to collaborate with Suven in conducting clinical trials of these products.

The trials would take at least six years and so the company has to wait up to 2012 for any of these products to be launched in the market.