Jubilant partners to expand GPCR screening services
The deal combines two industry trends, namely a contract research organisation (CRO) attempting to cuts drug development cost and time and a US-based company targeting emerging markets.
Jubilant Biosys, a subsidiary of Jubilant Organosys, is the CRO in the deal. The agreement gives it access to DiscoveRx PathHunter and cAMPHunter cell lines and proprietary enzyme fragment complementation (EFC) chemiluminescent detection technology to perform screening for clients.
It believes that by combining DiscoveRx’s assay platform with its capabilities in medicinal chemistry, modelling and structural biology it can offer pharma clients cost-effective G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) screening and lead generation services.
The cost-effectiveness of Jubilant’s operations can be partially attributed to its location in Bangalore, India. By partnering with an established company in India, DiscoveRx, which has operations in the US and England, gains access to the growing emerging market.
Pyare Khanna, president and CEO of DiscoveRx, explained that its “customers require an easy access to [its] innovative product portfolio”.
Khanna added: “Partnerships will add value to our efforts of bringing industry leading portfolio of PathHunter and HitHunter GPCR assays to a broader audience."
Expansion at Jubilant
Jubilant is also in the process of expanding its animal facilities, according to media reports. The expansion includes a nude mice facility to further research into oncology and metabolic and central nervous system (CNS) diseases.
In 2009 Jubilant entered into several partnerships to develop treatments in these therapeutic fields. These include a joint venture with AstraZeneca focused on neuroscience candidates and a collaboration with the University of Alabama (UAB) and Southern Research Institute (SRI).
The researchers working with UAB and SRI are hoping to develop affordable treatments for cancer, infection and metabolic disorders.
