IDRI AND JUBILANT CHEMSYS EXTEND RESEARCH FOR TB DRUG DISCOVERY
~ The additional grant of $3.4Million will enable development of new drugs to combat tuberculosis ~
PRESS RELEASE
Noida, Monday, 24 March 2014: Jubilant Chemsys, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jubilant Life
Sciences, and one of the most recognized drug discovery research services organizations from Asia
today announced an extension of collaborative partnership with Infectious Disease Research
Institute (IDRI) for TB drug discovery. Today marks World TB Day, designated to build public
awareness of the disease. Jubilant Chemsys offers drug discovery research services on Full Time
Equivalent and Fees- for-services basis.
The collaboration in chemistry support has been in existence since 2009 as part of a joint effort with
the Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative (LTI) and so far has generated hundreds of Novel Chemical
Entities (NCEs) – some of which have now been identified for further exploration. Jubilant Chemsys,
under the terms of agreement, so far had been offering philanthropic support and expertise in
synthesis of NCEs to support the early research in TB.
Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. Subir Basak, President, Jubilant Drug Discovery Services
“Jubilant is excited to extend the partnership with IDRI in identifying and discovering novel chemical
entities in the area of tuberculosis. We are glad that the collaboration is leveraging our chemistry
talent and our experience in anti-bacterial research. The research outcome will address the current
unmet medical need in the field of TB therapy - a growing concern in under developed and
developing economies including India.”
“We have been impressed with the commitment and engagement from Jubilant Chemsys in support
of TB drug discovery over the past few years. We are excited to expand our efforts with them to
access additional synthetic and medicinal chemistry capabilities. This will take us another step closer
to our goal of developing much-needed new drugs to combat tuberculosis.” Tanya Parish, Ph.D.,
IDRI, Vice President of Drug Discovery.
IDRI is a founding member of both the LTI and the TB Drug Accelerator, a unique partnership funded
by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that targets the discovery of new TB drugs by collaborating
on early-stage research. The Foundation recently awarded IDRI $3.4 million in additional funding to
Tanya Parish, Ph.D., IDRI Vice President of Drug Discovery, and supplements an earlier grant
awarded in 2010, for a total of $7.8 million. The grant is focused on identifying new leads and drug
targets for tuberculosis with the ultimate goal of producing new drugs to treat TB.
“Jubilant has been extremely successful in advancing several validated hit series for the Lilly
Initiative, and we are very pleased to see this progress recognized through the ability to expand the
Jubilant collaboration with IDRI. We are very grateful to Jubilant for all they have done to get us to
this point, and look forward to reaching our goals through this expanded partnership.” Dr. Philip
Hipskind, Ph.D., Lilly, Distinguished Research Fellow and Leader of the Lilly Initiative.
With this association, Jubilant will continue to provide chemistry and medicinal chemistry support to
IDRI. The company is also evaluating further liaisoning with IDRI in key functional areas like
computational chemistry and Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) Services.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of human tuberculosis, a devastating infectious
disease that kills about 1.5 million and infects more than eight million people each year. There is an
increasing threat from multi-drug resistant and extremely drug resistant strains, demonstrating the
need to develop more effective, cheaper and faster-acting drugs – the prime focus of IDRI’s
Discovery Program, led by Parish.
About Jubilant Chemsys Limited:
Jubilant Chemsys Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. The Company
offers drug discovery research services to the various research groups based out of US, Europe and
Japan on Full Time Equivalent and Fees-for-services basis. Services offered include Discovery
Chemistry services spanning the early phase of drug discovery from concept to candidate selection
stage, Medicinal chemistry services include Hit-to-Lead and Lead Optimization, process
development and optimization etc., ranging from mg to kg scale.
About Jubilant Life Sciences:
Jubilant Life Sciences Limited is a global Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Company engaged in
manufacture and supply of APIs, Solid Dosage Formulations, Radiopharmaceuticals, Allergy Therapy
Products and Life Science Ingredients. It also provides services in Contract Manufacturing of Sterile
Injectables and Ointments, Creams and Liquids and Drug Discovery and Development. The
Company’s strength lies in its unique offerings of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences products and
services across the value chain. With 10 world‐class manufacturing facilities in India, US and Canada
and a team of over 6300 multicultural people across the globe, the Company is committed to deliver
value to its customers spread across over 100 countries. The Company is well recognized as a
‘Partner of Choice’ by leading pharmaceuticals and life sciences companies globally. For more info,
visit www.jubl.com
About IDRI
As a non-profit global health organization, IDRI (Infectious Disease Research Institute) takes a
comprehensive approach to combat infectious diseases, combining the high-quality science of a
research organization with the product development capabilities of a biotech company to create
new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. IDRI combines passion for improving human health with the
understanding that it is not just what our scientists know about disease, but what we do to change
its course that will have the greatest impact. Founded in 1993, IDRI has 125 employees
headquartered in Seattle with nearly 100 partners/collaborators around the world. For more
information, visit http://www.idri.org/.
For more information please contact:
For Media
Sudipta Das
Perfect Relations
Ph: +91 9650602489
E-mail: [email protected]
Nidhi Malik
Jubilant Life Sciences Limited
Ph: +91-120 436 1062
E-mail: [email protected]