ICGEB and Sun Pharma to co-develop botanical drug for dengue

 
Dr Dinakar M Salunke, director International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, commented, “Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, poses a significant global public health risk. In tropical countries such as India where periodic dengue outbreaks can be correlated to the high prevalence of the mosquito vector, circulation of all four dengue viruses (DENVs) and the high population density, a drug for dengue is being increasingly recognised as an unmet public health need. Using the knowledge of traditional Indian medicine, we explored the indigenous herbal bio-resource to identify plants with pan-DENV inhibitory activity and identified CIPA as a safe, affordable and effective solution.”

 
Kirti Ganorkar, senior vice president - business development & portfolio management, Sun Pharma, said, “Dengue poses a significant global public health risk. In tropical countries like India where dengue outbreaks are significantly intense, a drug for dengue is recognised as an unmet public health need. Our partnership with ICGEB aims to develop Cipa as a safe, effective & affordable botanical drug for treatment of dengue.”
 
The terms of this agreement permits Sun Pharma’s access to all the intellectual properties of this drug cross 17 countries. ICGEB will establish assay systems for development of Cipa for treatment of dengue infection for a pre-defined period of time. ICGEB will work exclusively with Sun Pharma for the development of this drug and clinical treatment strategies based on botanical and phyto-pharmaceuticals. Sun Pharma will pay royalties on sales post commercialisation.

 
A botanical drug is a plant-derived medicinal product that is intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in humans. These medicines are based on complex botanical compounds and can offer multiple agent solution, selectively and differentially affecting various target tissues. These characteristics make botanical drugs safe and effective. As any other new drug, Sun Pharma will scientifically substantiate the safety and effectiveness, manufacture under appropriate standards and build a strong intellectual property base to support commercialisation of its botanical dengue drug.
 
India represents nearly 50 percent of the global population estimated to be at risk of dengue. Severe dengue, which is potentially fatal, correlates with very high virus load, reduction in platelet counts and haemorrhage. Antiviral therapy to reduce high virus load may be beneficial in attenuating disease severity. ICGEB and Sun Pharma through this collaboration are developing innovative botanical opportunities to identify herbal options that could be source of dengue inhibitory activity. The developmental efforts of this collaboration will aim to explore how the extract prepared from Cipa Linn can inhibit the replication of virus in living cells against dengue infection.

 
The high and growing burden of dengue in India suggests a pressing need to improve its public health efforts. It is estimated the cost of medical care for those who get infected with dengue is equal to nearly $550 million annually. Additional indirect economic costs, which are borne by patients and their families, lost wages, will be another $ 550 million. It is thus believed that dengue costs India over $1.1 billion annually.
 
The ICGEB is an international, non-profit research organisation. Established as a special project of UNIDO, it became fully autonomous in 1994 and now counts over 60 member states. The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology provides a scientific and educational environment of the highest standard and conducts innovative research in life sciences for the benefit of developing countries.