Page 143 - CW E-Magazine (4-6-2024)

Pharmaceuticals

fi nancial performance during FY24, due increasing complexity of fi ling appli- they are preparing for new launches
to lower raw material cost and stability cations for new drugs is adding to the in the US.
in pricing,” said Mr. Vivek Jain, Direc- shortages and reducing competition,
tor of Corporate Ratings at India Ratings it added. Additionally, price erosion in the
and Research. US market – where lower prices amid
Indian companies could likely fi ll stiff competition affect drugmakers’
The research fi rm said increasing the gap by expanding supply chains margins – is expected to fall to the sin-
regulatory costs led to many US-based and increasing participation across gle digits over the next 12 to 18 months
generic pharma manufacturers halting therapeutic categories, it said. Earlier in from double digits in 2022, the research
the production of certain drugs. The May, both Dr. Reddy’s and Cipla said fi rm said, likely improving returns.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
‘Key role for artifi cial intelligence and machine learning

in drug-discovery’

Harnessing of advanced technologies an expenditure close to $2-bn while the cribed as precision medicine. “Medicine
such as artifi cial intelligence (AI) and rate of success was not more than 30%. is tailored for an individual patient based
machine learning (ML) will be benefi cial on his or her predicted response or risk
in processing huge amounts of huge data, “Technology enables drug discovery of disease. This is not new. It has existed
according to Mr. Deepak Sapra, CEO – faster, effi ciently and at lower cost. for over a decade. But it is making a
API & Services, Dr. Reddy’s Laborato- Through technologies such as AI and comeback in a big way now,” Mr. Sapra
ries. ML, the vast amount of drug and mole- said sharing examples of Mycin and
cular data can be harnessed to build IBM Watson.
Delivering the keynote address in a complex models to predict how drugs
summit on ‘Navigating Digital Transfor- behave in the body,” he said. Mr. Sunil Savaram, Founder and
mation in Engineering and Manufactur- CEO of Plural Technology said percent
ing’ held in Hyderabad recently, Mr. Sapra To prove his point on the role of tech- of profi ts being spent on R&D in India
said the drug discovery process was a nology in drug discovery he spoke about was only 0.8% as against 5.2% spent by
long one spread over 10 to 15 years with personalised medicine, which he des- South Korea.
PARTNERSHIP
Alvotech and Dr. Reddy’s ink licensing and supply deal

Alvotech, a global player in bio- including osteoporosis in post-meno- tion milestones as well as sales-based
similar medicines, and Dr. Reddy’s Lab- pausal women and prevention of payments. Dr. Reddy’s commercialisa-
oratories SA, a wholly-owned subsi- skeletal-related events in adults with tion rights are exclusive for the US, and
diary of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, advanced malignancies. semi-exclusive for Europe and the UK.
have entered into a license and supply
agreement for the commercialisation of Iceland-based Alvotech will be res- “We are pleased to collaborate with
AVT03, Alvotech’s biosimilar candidate ponsible for development and manu- Alvotech to make this denosumab bio-
of Prolia and Xgeva (denosumab). facturing of the product, while similar available to patients in the US,
Dr. Reddy’s will be responsible for Europe and UK. Over the years, we
The collaboration combines Dr. registration and commercialisation of have created a portfolio of biosimilar
Reddy’s global commercial presence the product in the applicable markets. products, which are marketed in seve-
with Alvotech’s capabilities in develop- ral emerging markets. Most recently,
ing biosimilars for markets worldwide. The license and supply agreement we launched bevacizumab, our fi rst
includes an upfront payment to Alvo- biosimilar in the UK,” Mr. Erez Israeli,
Prolia and Xgeva are indicated tech, with additional payments upon Chief Executive Offi cer of Dr. Reddy’s
for the treatment of various diseases certain regulatory and commercialisa- said in a press release.

Chemical Weekly June 4, 2024 143

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