Nicholas Piramal India Ltd has informed that the company has entered into a plant screening agreement with Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company focuses on the development and commercialisation of proprietary pharmaceuticals for the global market, to discover novel diabetes therapeutic agents.

As part of the agreement, the company will utilize its high throughout screening facility and natural product chemistry expertise along with biological testing capabilities to identify active compounds from Napo's library of medicinal plant extracts from tropical regions. Napo and the company will jointly own all products that are developed under the agreement.

Dr Somesh Sharma, CSO of the company added, "We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Napo and look forward to a close working relationship. This agreement allows us to utilize our state of the art screening capabilities and expertise in working with natural products for both companies benefit, and at the same time provide NPIL with access to new product opportunities. Diabetes is a major focus of NPIL and the incidence of diabetes among the populations we serve has grown significantly over the past decade to where it is a major health concern."