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Our Bureau

Hyderabad , July 28

HAVING outlicensed its diabetes molecules to the global pharma giants such as Novo Nordisk and Novartis in the past, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd is now working out a deal with a Danish pharma major for similar arrangement to carry out further clinical trials.

Responding to a shareholder's query at the annual general meeting here, the Dr Reddy's Group Chairman, Dr K. Anji Reddy, said the discussions with the Danish pharma major were currently at an advanced stage.

"A decision on outlicensing Balaglitazone (DRF 2593), which completed phase-II clinical trials, in favour of the Danish pharma company for conducting phase-III trials can be expected in the next couple of months," Dr Reddy said. He expected the diabetes molecule to enter phase-III trials sometime next year.

Further, he said Dr Reddy's Labs was also considering a proposal to spin off its successful molecules into a new company and join hands with venture capitalists for taking forward the clinical trials and launching the products.

"I am proud to tell you that our pipeline of new molecules is scientifically exciting and our current efforts will result in tangible near term benefit to the company and its shareholders even as we await longer-term benefits," Dr Reddy told shareholders at the AGM.

Dr Reddy's Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr G.V. Prasad, said the company was seeking innovative solutions to de-risk the business of pipeline building in the R&D intensive businesses so as to protect the shareholder value over the short term even as the benefits of the investments in pipeline building were realised over the longer term.

"The first such solution was the innovative $56-million partnership deal that we announced in March this year with ICICI Venture. This deal is the first of its kind in India and involves sharing of the risks and investments associated with the development and commercialisation of generic products for the US market," he said

Further, Mr Prasad said, "We are working on arriving at a suitable R&D partnership model for the drug discovery business. We will explore the possibility of a similar partnership deal for the specialty business as well. These partnerships will enable us to continue the advancement of our NCE (new chemical entity) and specialty assets while mitigating the risks and costs of development."

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