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Develop Expertise in New Drug Delivery Systems:
NDDS focuses on developing more user-friendly dosage forms of medicines with the aim of increasing dosing convenience to the patients. Today, about 74% of drugs taken orally are found less effective. Many high value brands are going off patent in the next few years; pharma industry should focus on developing low-cost low-risk novel delivery systems, for example, extended release formulation of
Amoxycillin / Clavulanate can be effective against ABRS & CAP.
Biotechnology & Bioinformatics : Indian biotech research is concentrated in the areas of vaccines, diagnostics, molecular biology, cell culture, fermentation and hybridoma technology. Smaller discovery and genomics-based biotechnology companies should move out of the laboratory and get into the clinic and should realize that developing and marketing their own drugs is far more profitable. Recombinant vaccines, HIV diagnostic test kit and gene probe test for TB are some of the important areas where pharma industry are expected to contribute. US drug companies would like to send banks of genomics and proteomics data for analysis to India. Industry will need investments & attitude for capturing this opportunity. Biotech companies need tremendous software support to write algorithms, develop software for existing algorithms and for other key activities. The IT and pharma Industry should team up with researchers to harness India's natural competitive advantage & unique position.
Vaccines: The potential for Indian vaccines is immense. DPT & MMR vaccines are produced in the country. Several other vaccines like attenuated oral as well as VI antigen based injectable typhoid vaccine & diarrhea vaccines are required in large quantities. Polysaccharide Quadrivalent Meningococcal Meningitis vaccine have export potential in African countries. Industry should make efforts to augment their product profile with monoclonal antibodies (MAB) & cancer vaccines as antibodies & vaccines are used to manage the symptoms in oncology & autoimmune diseases.
Examples are:
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h-T1, a humanized anti CD-6 targeting immunosuppressive
MAB (for T Cell Lymphomas, Rheumatoid arthritis & psoriasis).
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The
qT3, a chimeric Anti CD3 targeting immunosuppressive MAB (for organ transplant).
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The cancer vaccines like EGF, TGFa & HER1
Recombinant Therapeutic Proteins: The Indian government has granted marketing licenses for about 25 recombinant protein therapeutics. These include insulin, a-interferon, hepatitis B surface antigen based vaccine, GM-CSF, G-CSF, blood clotting factor VIII, streptokinase, hGH and FSH. Of these, most of the products are imported. Recombinant insulin, hGH, interferon and hepatitis B vaccines enjoy larger market share. h-R3, a humanized anti EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors) targeting MAB for head & neck, brain, Non-Small Cell Lung of cancers, Recombinant GCSF (Granulocyte stimulating factor) , Erythropoietin, Medical proteins such as relaxin, rennin, interleukins and tumor necrosis factor offer market opportunities.
Pharmaceutical industry can take advantage of emerging field called Chemical genetics that takes combinatorial chemical and small molecule libraries to dissect complex biological processes.
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