After having spent seven years on technology incubation in India and more than a decade on biotechnology research in abroad, Epygen Biotech Pvt Ltd, now planning to raise Rs.300 crore in the next three years to fuel launch of its exciting biosimilars pipeline.
The funding will be provided by Epygen with the best possible conditions to propel clinical trial programmes of its pipeline molecules in the field of oncology and cardiology, which are showing substantial promise in protein expression and purification. With several decades of recombinant protein background, the company aims to take a lead role in the biosimilar field in the region. From a pipeline full with E Coli and mammalian proteins, the company has chosen to launch a stepping stone Biosimilar Recombinant Streptokinase (rSK) for the cardiovascular segment in India by 2019. This product is of utmost national interest as 17 lakh people die of heart attack in India every year and other thrombolytic proteins is more than ten times in cost. This technology is befitting to the current programme assuring “Healtahcare for all”.
The company is upgrading its R&D capabilities by setting up one lakh sq ft biopharmaceutical facility in Patalganga, Maharashtra, where Phase-I of the project is dedicated to E Coli based biosimilars for cardiovascular, oncology and rheumatology and Phase-II to make mammalian cell based monoclonal antibodies for oncology, jointly targeting more than $ 10 billion market. The fresh fund infusion would be utlilized for clinical trials of the pipeline molecules and securing intellectual property (IP) for a range of medium and late stage technologies for novel biological entities in oncology and CNS segments.
Debayan Ghosh, president and founder, Epygen said, “The Indian market has doubled in size in the biosimilar space over the past years, and aiming at catching up with regional players like Korea and even exceed them by 2025. There is a $30 billion pie on the plate, however, the entry barrier will only get stiffer as regulatory challenges emerge in the lights of the developed world”.