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Three major biotech partnership deals were struck on the opening of day of annual biotechnology show -- BangaloreBio 2005.
Shanta Biotechnics is collaborating with PolyTheric of UK.
Edutech a Bangalore based knowledge solutions company is tying up with Zenosis, another UK-based technology company. Randox, a UK-based diagnostic kit maker, is setting up a manufacturing base outside Bangalore, which will be the first one outside of its home country.
Shanta Biotech's pact with PolyTherics, a University of London biotech spin-off, involves a technology transfer agreement, which will enable Shanta Biotech to licence PolyTherics's novel pegylation technology to make an afforabable PEG-interferon product for the treatment of Hepatitis C.
"The two companies are to collaborate in an accelerated drug development programme in order to commercialise a cost affordable treatment for patients with Hepatitis C," said Sir Michael Arthur, British High Commissioner in India.
"This agreement is a shining example of how exciting innovations in our best universities can be rapidly turned into new and useful global healthcare products," he added.
The pact between Zenosis and Edutech deal will enable Indian life science companies to get their products to the global markets faster by helping them with regulatory compliance.
The deal will also enable Indian bio-pharma companies to meet requirements of regulatory compliance on-line.
According to Simon Burgess, CEO of Zenosis, the company is entering the Indian market with specific modules addressed for local requirements as well.
Randox, a diagnostic kit maker, is investing substantially to set up clinical diagnostics plant in Bangalore.
The company is known to have been the first to develop diagnostics and protein biochips. The company took the decision based on the availability of scientific skills in Bangalore and the ample supply of biochemistry graduates.
Commenting on this increasing trend among global biotechnology companies in tapping Bangalore's resources, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson, Karnataka task force for Biotech said: "Almost all big pharma and a number of biotech companies are outsouring research and development services form a large number of research services companies based in Bangalore.
BangaloreBio 2005 will give a further fillip to this effort. The fact that three major deals have been signed on the first day itself of this event indicates the potential it holds."
BangaloreBio, which was started five years ago, has witnessed some of the prominent and successful bio-partnering deals such as Biocon tying up with Vacinex, CIMAB Cuba, Nobex and Genencor.
In addition to this, Strand Genomics entered into a pact with Medibic of Japan while Avestagen tied up with Genetic ID and Biomerieux.