 "A man carrying a gas cylinder walks out of the research and development centre of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in Mumbai. Photo: Reuters")
Sun Pharma has inked a pact with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) to develop a novel botanical drug for the treatment of dengue, which could hit the market in four years.
"Today we have signed an agreement for the development of Cissampelos pariera (Cipa), a botanical drug, in collaboration with ICGEB. Usually any drug development takes around 4-8 years but since we have done some pre-clinical work already we expect the drug to hit markets in the next four years," Sun Pharma Senior Vice President - Business Development and Portfolio Management Kirti Ganorkar told PTI.
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Once developed, the company plans to register the drug across various global markets, he added.
"As we go along, we will apply to get it registered all over the world," Ganorkar said.
The agreement permits Sun Pharma access to all the intellectual properties of the drug across 17 countries.
When asked about the pricing of the product, Ganorkar said: "We are still at a very early stage and it is difficult to say about the pricing but one thing I can say right now is that our target is to make it very affordable."
Sun Pharma will fund the entire development programme and pay royalty following commercialisation of the drug. ICGEB on the other hand will provide the technical know-how and pre-clinical expertise.
However, the Mumbai-based drug major did not disclose the financial details citing confidentiality clause.
A botanical drug is a plant-derived medicinal product that is intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in humans.
ICGEB Director Dinakar M Salunke said a drug for dengue is being increasingly recognised as an unmet public health need.
"Using the knowledge of traditional Indian medicine, we explored the indigenous herbal bio-resource to identify plants with pan-DENV inhibitory activity and identified Cipa as a safe, affordable and effective solution," Salunke added.
Sun Pharma said the estimated cost of medical care for those who get infected with dengue is equal to nearly $550 million annually. Additional indirect economic costs, which are borne by patients and their families, lost wages, will be another $550 million.
India represents nearly 50% of the global population estimated to be at risk of dengue. It is believed that dengue costs India over $1.1 billion annually.
