Avesthagen begins work on new R&D facility

Avesthagen Limited, the Bangalore-based bio-technology firm, on Wednesday said it would release its first batch of biosimilars into the market by mid-2009.

Biosimilars are new versions of biopharma products whose patents have expired. These are large complex molecules that are produced using the core genetic material and are similar to the reference products such as insulin and human growth hormones.

Avesthagen, which has been building competence in the creation and purification of biosimilars, has lined up eight products for release.

“We are working with our partner Cipla Limited to co-develop fusion proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Two of these drugs, which are basically aimed at treating cancer, have moved into the pre-clinical stage. In a matter of few months, a lot of our products will be on the shelf,” Avesthagen founder and managing director Villoo Morawala Patell told reporters here on the sidelines of the ground-breaking ceremony of the company’s research and development facility at the International Tech Park-Bangalore (ITPB).

The bionutrition and bioagriculture divisions of the company are also in the process of rolling out products developed by them, Ms Patell said and added that the company will focus extensively on the product distribution network.

Referring to the Avestagenome project which enables the archiving of the genome of 69,000 members of the Parsi community and determining the genetic basis of longevity, Ms Patell said: “The project is progressing well. So far, we have collected about 3,000 blood samples from places like Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.”

She said the company will tap the capital market to raise funds to execute the expansion plans. The company is getting ready to file a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, she said while declining to specify the date or the sum to be raised through the IPO.

The R&D facility and corporate headquarters at Whitefield will be ready by June 2010. The 14-storeyed building, spread over 400,000 sq ft, will come up for Rs 160 crore, she added.