The Tata Industries Ltd.(TIL), a Tata Group company that manages the Group's new initiatives, has picked up a significant stake in the Hyderabad based biopharmaceutical manufacturer Indigene Pharmaceuticals.

Kishore A Chaukar, managing director, TIL said the stake will be a strategic one and will be around 25 to 30 percent. Neither the Tata officials nor Indigene chairman and CEO Dr.M Vaman Rao did reveal the details of the investments.

"We have made significant investment in the project so far and it amounts to many million dollars and will invest further. But at present we are not in a position to reveal the financials" said Vaman Rao.

"We are impressed with the work done by Indigene in four years and the significant advances in bringing together its technology, knowledge base, product and consumer focused business model. We are looking at the alliance with a long term vision and are committed to further invest according to the needs" said Kishore A Chaukar, managing director, TIL.

Indigene, started in 2002, is set to launch four consumer healthcare products in the US market and has a potential blockbuster drug for allergy rhinitis (RA), now undergoing Phase III trials in Europe. The candidate drug IG-RD-001 is claimed to have potential to address both the inflammatory and allergy driven symptoms of RA. Indigene is also working on developing molecular combination drug leads in the therapeutic segments of oncology, metabolic and respiratory disorders and infectious diseases.

Its consumer healthcare product pipeline is targeted to women's health, general wellness and senior health. Indigene also has entered into a tie up with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to co-research some of these products. Indigene's R&D efforts are rooted on 'Multiceutics'- molecular combinations optimized to work simultaneously on multiple pathways associated with diseases and symptoms of the human body. The company has base in Boston in USA, Switzerland in Europe and Hyderabad. Indigene plans to launch its products in India by 2007.

Vaman Rao said Indigene has roped in contract manufacturers, including Cardinal Health of US, to manufacture the products for US market. The CHC products to be launched in the US market are a stress reliever 'Relaxane', 'Memoryl' for maintenance of memory, 'Pre-Tense' for nervous tension and 'LAXella', a gentle cramp free laxative for women. The company has tied up leading stores in US like CVS pharmacy, Walgreens, Rites Aid etc. to set up an extensive sales outlet network. Indigene also has roped in the US $ 65 billion wholesale Cardinal Health to sell its products and Beckloff Associates to outsource clinical research requirements. Indigene has established a series of strategic partnerships with global leaders to support and accelerate product development, commercialization and marketing activities, he said.

It may be noted that the Tata's, which hived off its pharmaceutical forays like Rallis India a few years ago, has strategic investments in biotech initiatives like Advenus and Avastagen.