Torrent Out To Patent New Coronary Vasodilator
Torrent Pharm-aceuticals has filed for a patent for a new molecule in the category of coronary vasodilators in India and the United States. The company says that it will file for the same patent in the European Union next.
Called TRC 266, the molecule is a selective coronary vasodilator that does not lose its efficacy with continued use and is less likely to cause low blood pressure. A coronary vasodilator dilates the blood vessels of the heart allowing easy blood passage. It is used in patients suffering from coronary artery disease. The company has filed a patent application for TRC 266 and its analogues.
The drug development process is expected to take anywhere between five and seven years before the company can start marketing it.
Responding to a faxed questionnaire, said C Dutt, executive director, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, and in-charge of the Torrent research centre, said that there were more molecules in the pipeline.
The molecule has been discovered by the company's research facilities, which have been set up at an investment of Rs 30 crore. The centre has developed cell-based biological screening capabilities in order to speed up the screening of new chemical entities.
Torrent has also identified areas of research in molecular pharmacology, long term toxicity, medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug design, cellular and molecular biology and genotoxicity. It has commenced research in fungal disease formulations which will be targetted at tropical countries like India.
The company is one of the market leaders in the cardiovascular and neuro-psychiatric segments.
It is also a player in the treatment of gastrointestinal and anti-infectives.
Last year, the company introduced Lamitor (Lamotrigine) an advanced anti-epileptic, Serenata (Sertraline) - an anti-depressant - and Tozar (Losartan), an anti hypertensive under a new class of molecules called Angiotensin II inhibitors. It also launched Syscan (flucanozole) eye drops for the treatment of ophthalmic fungal infections.