IICT pact with Sun Pharma to net ₹240 crore

To out-licence patents on New Chemical Entity

IICT’s smart national molecular bank holding up to 60,000 compounds, largest such collection in the public sector, has been helping in the product discovery process said CSIR-IICT director S. Chandrasekhar. | File

CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) would get the biggest pay check ever of about ₹240 crore from pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharma towards ‘out-licencing’ of patents on a New Chemical Entity (NCE) which can be developed into drugs for multiple ailments.

The CSIR-IICT director, S. Chandrasekhar, signed the pact with Sun Pharma’s Dillip Shanghvi here recently where it was agreed that the IICT would get the payment upfront for the next five years. More payments through royalties on net sales on commercialisation of the products, developed using these patents, would also be made.

Sun Pharma would be responsible for the development of the products, manufacturing them as well as commercialisation and regulatory filings, informed Dr. Chandrasekhar at a press conference in the city on Friday.

“This is only a beginning of out-licencing NCEs as several patents are being negotiated with potential drug development companies. There are at least three more chemical molecules on the verge of being handed over to drug firms. It took our scientific community some time to understand the drug product discovery process, but now we are on the right track,” he said.

The IICT has also been working with institutes dealing with traditional medicine like ayurveda and unani such as Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University of Raipur (Chhattisgarh) towards finding new drugs through natural compounds. About 10 single source compounds being used to treat a particular disease like leaves of tulasi, neem and others have been chosen for a focused research programme.

With regard to the pact with Sun Pharma, the director said both have been working on a couple of molecules for some time now. “Mr. Shanghvi had visited us twice and a lot of due diligence was done before the deal was struck. Potential drugs could have a strong impact on focussed areas of oncology, ophthalmology and dermatology,” he said.

Dr. Chandrasekhar said the potential drugs, which could take up to five years before hitting the market, should be affordable. “It’s a significant development as unlike the process of development where we had supplied formula to firms to develop generic drugs, this is a new product altogether,” he said.

IICT’s smart national molecular bank holding up to 60,000 compounds, largest such collection in the public sector, has been helping in the product discovery process, he added.