GVK BIO entered into a research agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), to discover drug candidates focused on pre-defined discovery targets. GVK BIO will utilize in-house capabilities in Discovery Chemistry, Informatics, Biology and ADME to advance this program. GVK BIO will be responsible for identifying drug candidates, which will be transferred to Wyeth to advance these compounds towards clinical studies. Under the agreement, GVK BIO will receive an initial payment and will be eligible for success-based milestone payments.

The Collaborative Research SBU (Strategic Business Unit) of GVK BIO focuses on innovation led discovery activities like generating hits, advancing hit compounds/chemical series to identify drug candidates and developing backup/fast follower programs. Using GVK BIO’s state-of the-art Informatics Databases, the SBU integrates expertise in Medicinal Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, In-vitro and In-vivo Biology, ADME and Toxicity capabilities to collaborate with leading life-sciences companies to advance research.

Inogent Laboratories (Inogent Labs), a Hyderabad-based custom synthesis and API manufacturing company, announced the appointment of Rajiv Varma as the new President of the company. In his new role as President, Varma will be responsible for Inogent operations and help the company grow as a leading contract research and custom manufacturing services provider.

Rajiv Varma has more than 32 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has worked with the leading pharmaceutical companies before joining Inogent Labs. Starting his career with ICI India Ltd in 1975 as a management trainee he went on to become the Senior Vice-President of the company in 2002. He then moved to Nicholas Piramal India Ltd as Senior Vice President in 2004 and Cadila pharmaceutical Ltd. as President of API Business in 2005 before moving to Inogent Labs.

GVK Biosciences will launch a manually curated database of clinical biomarkers that it has been developing in collaboration with an undisclosed large pharmaceutical firm for two years.

The database will be the first comprehensive resource of its type on the market. GVK BIO’s Clinical Biomarker Database is the product of a massive literature-curation effort . The database includes detailed information on around 1,950 unique biomarkers that the company has deemed “clinically evaluated,” meaning that they have been reported in one or more clinical trials.

The markers in the database have been gathered from clinical trials registries, pharmaceutical company websites, scientific meetings, and other sources. Our curators culled through the scientific literature to capture information on nearly 350 different parameters, including the drugs, targets, and indications associated with each marker, as well as the characteristics of the biomarker, its mechanism of action, experimental details, and the utility of the biomarker — whether it has application for prognosis, diagnosis, disease progression, toxicity, response to therapy, or as a surrogate.

This utility classification, as well as information about the nature of the biomarker — whether it is a biochemical, genomic, imaging, or metabolic marker, are key to the structure of the database. Watch out for more from GVK BIO on this Database.

GVK BIO, a leading Pharma & Biotech research and development outsourcing company, announced that Sequoia Capital a leading global private investment firm has invested Rs.100 crores in the company.

GVK BIO has been very successful in expanding its services across the Pharma value chain. Currently GVK BIO is the only Indian CRO that provides an integrated service platform ranging from Informatics, MedChem and Biology services in Discovery research to Clinical Research and Data Management services on the Development side and further to Process Research and Custom Synthesis. This service breadth gives GVK BIO an edge, as clients look to grow their relationships with Indian CROs from a vendor-based relationship to strategic partnerships.

”We are very excited to be shareholders in GVK BIO. The rapid growth of the company in the last few years has made it a global leader in the CRO market. With the strength of its management and leadership, we believe that the company is on its way to become a dominant force in the life science industry.” Said Mr. Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital.

Sequoia has funded and helped build world-class companies and will further assist in GVK BIO’s expansion plans.
GVK BIO intends to use these funds to:

The GVK BIO-Wyeth Hyderabad Chemistry Center was inaugurated by Dr. Robert Ruffolo, President R&D, Wyeth Pharma. Mr. David Hopper, the Consul General, United States Consulate, Chennai.

A team of 200 synthetic chemists and scientists work on cutting-edge research in this state-of-the-art facility. The facility is equipped with the latest high-end scientific equipment and instrumentation. The GVK BIO Wyeth Hyderabad Chemistry Center, located at Nacharam, Hyderabad, India, is comparable to any international research center.

GVK BIO and Wyeth entered into a research agreement in 2006. Wyeth selected GVK BIO after a global worldwide search for a suitable chemistry partner. GVK BIO was selected for the strength of its management team, research philosophy, and expertise in the area of Synthetic Organic Chemistry. GVK BIO will be responsible for designing synthetic routes for new molecules, carrying out the synthesis and characterization of target molecules for Wyeth.

GVK Biosciences and Wyeth Pharma organized an international symposium on the 05th of October 2007 on “New Dimensions in Organic Synthesis” at the Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC). World renowned leaders in Chemistry presented on various topics including crystal engineering, chemical tools for the study of complex biological systems, approaches to novel chemical reactions, synergy between natural products & drug discovery and total synthesis efforts. The first of its kind organized in Hyderabad in the area of Organic Chemistry and specifically organic synthesis, the Symposium was inaugurated by Mr. Frank Walsh, Executive Vice President, Wyeth Pharma.

Mr. Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, GVK BIO, announced the institutionalization of The GVK BIO Research Award for the best research project by a research scholar in the area of Drug Discovery. GVK BIO also look forwards to host similar seminars in other areas of science in the future.

GVK Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s premier CROs with a leadership position in Drug Discovery services. It has shown consistent growth by strengthening its leadership in core areas (Medicinal Chemistry, Informatics) and expanding into new service offerings (spanning Drug Discovery to Development and Custom Synthesis). It was awarded the ‘Best CRO in Drug Discovery Services in India’ in 2005 by Proximare and was identified as one of the ‘Top 20 companies to watch for in 2006’ by Business Today.

GVK BIO started operations in 2001 at Hyderabad and has in less than six years grown to nearly 1,300 employees adding multiple locations in Hyderabad and expanding into Chennai and Gurgaon. GVK BIO works with 15 of top 20 Pharma companies.

Discovery

• Informatics: Extracts, curates, and analyses biological patterns and medical/clinical information. Offers Modeling and Insilico drug discovery services as well as Knowledge Process Outsourcing services that include off-shoring of Patent Searches
• Medicinal Chemistry (MedChem): Involves the identification, synthesis and development of NCEs suitable for therapeutic use. It also includes the study of structure activity relationships.
• Biology: Provides pharmacological profiling services comprising of primary screening, selectivity, ADME properties and efficacy evaluation in animal models. Biology is intrinsic to Hit Validation and Lead Optimization programs.

Development

• Clinical Pharmacology Unit (CPU): Conducts Bioavailability and Bioequivalence studies for Indian and global Generic Pharma companies.
• Clinical Operations and Data Management: Offers Phase II to IV Clinical Trials services in the areas of Clinical Operations, Data Management, Medical Affairs and Biostatistics.
• Inogent: GVK BIO also offers Process R&D and Custom Synthesis services through a group company called Inogent Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Inogent undertakes process and analytical development of Drug Intermediates/APIs and NCEs for clients.

Collaborative Research

A core team of dedicated scientists mange Collaborative Research projects at GVK BIO leveraging on existing capabilities in Biology, Pharmacokinetics, Medicinal Chemistry and Informatics. The team comprises of experienced people from Medicinal Chemistry, Informatics, Pharmacology, ADME and Safety/Toxicology.