Dr Reddy's Labs is an emerging global pharmaceutical company with proven research capabilities. Established in the year 1984,Dr Reddy's has had nearly two decades of experience in creating and delivering innovative and quality products with the ultimate purpose of making the world a healthier place.
The company is vertically integrated with a presence across the pharmaceutical value chain. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biotechnology products and markets them globally, with focus on India, US, Europe and Russia. The company conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation and bacterial infection.
Dr Reddy's conducts its drug discovery programme at its two research facilities in Atlanta and Hyderabad. The Atlanta research centre, Dr Reddy's US Therapeutics Inc. (RUSTI), creatively applies state-of-the-art scientific methods to the rapid discovery and design of therapeutics. Its approach focuses on the regulation of gene expression and the protein function of targets that it has determined to be key effectors of these diseases. Currently, the Atlanta centre has validated three new drug targets in cell proliferation, diabetic vasculopathy and inflammation. In cell proliferation, the Atlanta center has a lead compound, for treating restenosis, which has successfully completed proof-of-concept in the animal model.
The drug discovery program at Hyderabad focuses on cancer, inflammation, bacterial infections and metabolic disorders with an emphasis on type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia & obesity. Dr Reddy's research pipeline currently has 3 molecules in clinical development and 4 molecules in pre-clinical development. The company has built significant intellectual property. As of June 18, 2003, the company has filed 67 patents with the USPTO and 54 patents with the PCT. It has been granted 33 patents by the USPTO.
Aurigene Discovery Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dr Reddy's, is setting up a new research and development laboratory in Bangalore with an investment close to Rs 50 crore. The centre in Bangalore will have dedicated laboratories for molecular biology, protein expression and purification, structural biology, computational chemistry and biology, pharmacology and medicinal chemistry.
Aurigene is also setting up another R&D laboratory in Boston, USA. This facility will be much smaller than the one being put up in Bangalore. This specialised laboratory will be the new global hub of discovery research. This will take the total number of laboratories to five. In order to give a push to its drug discovery efforts, the company has decided to raise the spending on R&D from 4.5 to 8 per cent from this year.
Dr Reddy's exports bulk actives, branded formulations and generic formulations to over 60 countries. The company's expertise in the development and manufacture of quality organic intermediates, bulk actives and finished dosage forms has been critical to its success in delivering innovative and affordable life-saving medicines to customers world-wide, including Europe and the US.
Dr Reddy's finished dosages have an enviable track record. Some of them such as Nise, Omez, Enam, Stamlo, Stamlo Beta and Ciprolet are among the top brands in India, and shave become household names in developing countries too. Dr Reddy's generic formulations have also become very popular in quality-conscious regulated markets such as the US and Europe. A few of its bulk drugs such as Norfloxacin, Ciprofloxacin and Enrofloxacin enjoy a large customer base worldwide. All this has been possible because of the company's innovative and sustained marketing efforts. Dr Reddy's is all set to spread its wings further and touch more lives across the globe.
Dr Reddy's became the first Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical company, outside Japan, to list on the New York Stock Exchange. It is also the first Indian pharmaceutical company to obtain 180-day exclusive marketing rights for a generic drug in the US market with the launch of Fluoxetine 40mg capsules in August 2001. The US district court in New Jersey had ruled in favour of DRL in a lawsuit filed by Pfizer regarding Amlodipine Maleate. If the original ruling, which has been appealed by Pfizer, is upheld in the higher court, it could provide a continuing window of opportunity for the company with the potential to generate significant earnings.
The company's core purpose is to help people lead healthier lives and this has been the driving force behind all its actions and investments since its inception. Dr Reddy's endeavor is to develop pharmaceuticals that significantly improve the quality of life.
The company, through its relentless focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and globalisation, aims to transform itself into a discovery-based global pharmaceutical company powe-red by innovative research.