Piramal, French co to make anti-chikungunya drug

Nicholas Piramal has signed an MoU with a French pharma company to manufacture an anti-chikungunya drug.

About 90 per cent of residents of Reunion Islands, which is a French territory near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, suffer from chikungunya, Swati Piramal, director of Nicholas Piramal, said on the sidelines of a pharma conference.

As India also suffers from the same disease, "We thought it would be great to have a collaboration with a French company and make a drug that would be beneficial for both the countries", she added.

The MoU was signed two days ago. Piramal refused to divulge any details of the proposed business as both companies are engaged in the process of working out the modalities.