Transgene Biotek Ltd has announced the sale of technology for recombinant human erythropoietin (rh-EPO) to TSS EXPORT GmbH FZE, one of the group companies of the TSS Group for US$ 5 million. The technology transfer and sale of this technology is expected to be completed during a period of approximately 5-6 months.

Transgene Biotek has made headlines in recent years for having out-licensed two of its technologies - including a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine to one of the largest vaccine producers in the world, and more recently Orlistat to one of the biggest Indian pharma companies with a significant presence on the global arena.

Speaking to us about the transaction Dr  K K Rao, managing director, Transgene, said “This transaction fulfills the pledge we made earlier this year to focus on revenue generation whilst monetizing the sale of underutilized Bio-generic drug assets; those developed by the company during the last 7-8 years but which we now feel do not fit into our new agenda for sustained growth.”

The company recently commenced commercial manufacturing operations of DHA, an Omega-3 Fatty acid which in recent years has witnessed explosive growth in the nutraceuticals and health supplements market. Whilst currently manufacturing in leased facilities, Transgene is also in the process of expanding its own in-house infrastructure to augment production capacities for this and other APIs coming into production. Within weeks Transgene also expects to begin the commercial manufacturing of a second API called Tacrolimus. Both APIs are being aimed at non-regulated markets. At the same time the company’s management is in talks with a number of manufacturers in Europe and North America for strategic partnerships (or JV’s) to manufacture and distribute these products into regulated markets.

Founded in 1991 by Dr Koteswara Rao, Transgene Biotek Ltd was one of the first pure bred Biotechnology companies in India. Although Transgene began its journey by manufacturing and selling diagnostic kits, the company soon moved on to more applied biotech research, including the research and development of vaccines. The company’s first major success came in 1999 when Transgene sold its proprietary genetically engineered recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology to the Serum Institute in Pune.

Dr Rao stated, “We are a vastly expanded company with an impressive product portfolio covering oncology, auto-immunity, drug delivery and biogenerics, and we passionately strive to bring these technologies to commercialization in the least possible time.”