Bangalore, Aug 26, 2008: Genzyme, a global leader in biotechnology, and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a not-for-profit R&D organization dedicated to reducing the burden of malaria, have entered into new collaboration with India’s Advinus Therapeutics. The collaboration seeks to develop new, improved treatments for specific patient groups most at risk for malaria, an often-fatal infectious disease of developing countries, particularly affecting pregnant women and infants.

 

Based in Bangalore, Advinus is a TATA-promoted life sciences research and development company with expertise in pharmaceutical R&D.

 

The ongoing MMV/Genzyme partnership also includes The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The team has begun to identify promising lead candidates, coming out of its innovative platform for high-throughput screening of several compound libraries. Among the kinds of compounds to be optimized, with the help of Advinus, are those active against key target enzymes that are essential for the survival of the malaria parasite.

 

Dr Chris Hentschel, president and chief executive officer of MMV, said, “Malaria kills between one and two million people annually, with the majority of victims being children under five and pregnant women. New antimalarial agents are urgently needed to stop this unacceptable loss of life, with eradication as our long-term objective. The pipeline of new molecules that are effective against malaria must be made more robust so that we can develop the next generation of powerful treatments.”

 

Dr Rashmi Barbhaiya, chief executive officer of Advinus, said, “India today is one of the few countries in the world that has not only the disease burden, but also the capability to research and develop new therapies for these diseases. Advinus, in particular, with its extensive drug discovery and development expertise, is uniquely positioned to work with MMV and Genzyme to address this crucial public health problem.”

 

Genzyme has established a formal presence in India last year to actively collaborate with private and public institutions in the country and the region. The company also supports efforts to discover and advance novel treatments for neglected diseases such as malaria, Chagas disease and sleeping sickness through its Humanitarian Assistance for Neglected Diseases (HAND) initiative.