Dr Reddy’s unit Aurigene sees 6 upsides this fiscal

Aurigene Discovery Technologies, the 100% drug discovery partnership subsidiary of Dr Reddy’s Labs, expects at least 6 major milestone upsides in the range of $0.5 million to $5 million each this fiscal.

The company, which has grown in size after a merger with the parent’s own discovery infrastructure, had a similar number of milestones last year, including a major one for pharma giant Novartis. CSN Murthy, chief executive officer, refused to divulge the amounts, citing confidentiality agreements.

“At one stroke, the company’s capacity has increased 60%, taking the number of scientists to above 400 after the merger,” he said.

Dr Reddy’s drug discovery operations will combine to create Aurigene Bangalore and Aurigene Hyderabad, which will almost double infrastructure from 170,000 sq ft now to 320,000 sq ft.

The Bangalore based Aurigene has 15 discovery engagements and 9 collaborations, many with global pharma giants such as Novartis, Merck Serono, Forest Labs, and Debiopharm Group.

G V Prasad, vice chairman and CEO, Dr Reddy’s, told analysts last week the existing structure of the pharma major didn’t fully optimise the resources at the discovery research facility. So the infrastructure was being merged with that of Aurigene for near term profitability, given that there is substantial demand from the latter’s clients and partners.

“Earlier, we were able to pursue only certain kinds of partnerships but with the new capabilities we acquire through the merger, we will be able to enter new areas like toxicology studies and research in antibacterials that will help us take molecules to the independent new drug filing stage,” Murthy said.