Venus Remedies Limited, a leading research based global pharmaceutical company, has come up with a platform technology called Drug -Protein-Polymer- Conjugate (DPPC). DPPC concept by Venus is a novel, patent protected technology, which will help in alleviating cancer and receptor diseases by a specific and selective targeting.
A triple conjugate therapy wherein protein and drug are conjugated with a polymer will help to reduce the amount of drug to be used to kill the tumour cells in cancers and other receptor diseases. There is reduced chemotherapy associated side effects especially in anticancer therapy. It is cost-effective and prevents resistance to existing therapies.
“We have designed a platform technology with a novel concept of triple conjugate i.e., Drug -Protein-Polymer- Conjugate (DPPC). Triple conjugate employs a protein moiety capable of binding selectively to a particular target site (affected organ), a polymer moiety covalently linked to a protein, and an active drug moiety. Based on specificity of the target organ, various components of DPPC can be rationally selected,” said Dr Mufti Suhail Sayeed, vice president- VMRC, Venus Remedies Limited.
Dr Manu Chaudhary, joint managing director and director- research, Venus Remedies Limited said that the platform technology holds its essence, with its significant potential to conjugate a wide range of drugs (physiochemically different) thereby not only reducing the amount of the drug to be targeted but will also be very cost-effective.”
According to Pawan Chaudhary, CMD, Venus Remedies the demonstrable efficacy in pre-clinical proof of concept studies its entry into clinical phase of the first DPPC based therapy. The company is keen to bring this wonder therapy to the market for the benefit of the mankind and are seeking appropriate collaborations for co-development or technology commercialization of the therapy.
At present, the market is flooded with a number of drugs that are available for the cancer treatment such as monoclonal antibodies (MAb) and small molecule inhibitors. MAbs are not administered as first line therapy but are usually administered as a second or third line resorts, which are not always the same as the cancer cell-surface specific antigens to which they target, thus limiting their effectiveness. Apart from this, treatment with these drugs is costly, as the cost of development and therapy is very high and complicated. Also, it causes adverse effects such as breathlessness, flushes and faintness, change in blood pressure and sometimes fatal infections. Utility of monoclonal antibodies is further limited by a variable pharmacokinetic distribution and a limited ability to diffuse across the tumours.
Cancer is the most rapidly growing segment of treatment in the pharmaceutical market with a large scope for smart drug strategies to treat cancers. World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated in its report that the death toll with the deadly disease of cancer is speculated to rise from 7.6 million (2008) to around 12 million by 2030. The anti-cancer drug market generated sales of $66.8 billion in 2007, up by 17 per cent in comparison with $57 billion in 2006, a new research report states that the global cancer drug market is expected to surpass US$ 78 billion in 2012.
The escalating prevalence of cancers of all kinds creates an opportunity to tap a huge market within the first year of the DPPC's launch. The drug can be effective in various types of cancers ranging from the most frequent one like breast cancer to rarest ones.
Besides this product, the company is also contributing successfully in the oncology segment across the globe through its wide array of key products, which includes Docetaxel, Paclitaxel, Gemcitabine, Oxaliplatin, Irinotecan and Topotecan.