Reliance arm to launch 4 biotech biosimilars by next year

Reliance Life Sciences, which launched three biosimilars, or reverse-engineered versions of biotech drugs last year, will launch four more such drugs by next year.

Clinical studies are on for these drugs, which belong to the oncology and cardiology segment. “We are working on biosimilar products which most other competitors are not following,” said KV Subramaniam, president, Reliance Life Science.

The company launched ReliFeron (interferon alpha), ReliPoietin (erythropoietin) and ReliGrast (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) last year. At present, final stage limited Phase III human clinical trials are on in Europe for GCSF (Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor), used to stimulate production of white blood cells and used as an adjunct treatment with chemotherapy for cancer patients. A second GCSF product is also under development and will reach markets by 2010. Both these products were added by Reliance Life Sciences through the acquisition of the UK-based drug discovery company, GeneMedix, in 2007.

Off-patent biotech drugs are an emerging business opportunity worldwide. Europe and the US are estimated to have a market size of above $16 billion by 2012 for biosimilars. Indian companies Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Wockhardt, Intas Biopharmaceuticals and Biocon are working on several biosimilar drugs.

Reliance Life Sciences currently exports its products to South Asia, South East Asia and Latin American countries. Going forward, the company will sell its products in the US and Europe once a regulatory mechanism evolves for sale of biosimilars, according to Subramaniam.

Reliance Life had earlier launched in-house developed plasma proteins such as ReliSeal (fibrin sealants), AlbuRel (albumin), ImmunoRel (immunoglobulin), HemoRel (anti-hemophilic factor) and ReliPlasma (virus inactivated plasma). Plasma proteins, which are part of blood, perform a variety of roles, including clotting blood, fighting diseases.

Reliance Life Sciences recently launched a small molecule or a pharmaceutical product to treat head cancer, said Subramaniam.

Apart from biosimilars, Reliance Life is working on stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, diabetic ulcers, and leukoderma, as well as cardiology drugs. These are expected to reach the market in three-four years. The company is researching on predictive diagnostics, which are medical tools to predict onset of diseases. Researchers at Reliance Life Science are also working on novel therapeutics for treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, ocular disorders and neurodegenerative disorders, based on most advanced drug research platforms such as small interference RNA (siRNA) and monoclonal antibodies.

About 150 researchers, including 80 PhDs, were working on various drug development activities at Reliance Life Science, said Subramaniam. The company was likely to grow its revenue over 70 per cent during the year, thanks to new launches, he added. However, he declined to reveal revenues and investment by the privately held company.