JUBILANT BIOSYS LTD
Bengaluru-based Jubilant Biosys, a part of the Jubilant Pharmova family of companies with R&D centres in India and business offices in Asia and North America, generated a revenue of Rs 2339 crore during FY20-21, exhibiting a growth of 28 per cent in comparison to the revenue figure of Rs 1831 crore generated in the previous year. During FY 20-21, Jubilant Biosys and US-based Yale University announced a research collaboration for multiple small molecule research programmes. Under the scope of this partnership, Jubilant Biosys will provide research services to investigators at Yale University working on novel therapeutic targets. Areas of collaboration include medicinal chemistry, structural biology, in-vitro and in-vivo pharmacology among others.
2020 also saw Jubilant Biosys, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jubilant Life Sciences Limited, announcing the completion of the merger with its sister company Jubilant Chemsys Limited, based in Noida. The combined entities are now operating as Jubilant Biosys Limited. The merger was intended to simplify operations and provide customers with a single brand access for a wide range of discovery and development services.
Biosys had earlier announced significant investment in building new state-of-the-art research facilities in Greater Noida and in Bengaluru to cater to increasing customer demand for its functional services (medicinal & synthetic chemistry, structural biology, DMPK, Biology & GMP scale-up) and notably integrated drug discovery services.
With a clear scientific focus on oncology, metabolic disorders, central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain and inflammation, Jubilant Biosys has rapidly emerged as a leading collaborator for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. In each of these therapeutic areas, the company has developed a deep level of expertise in discovery informatics, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, biology, invivo, in-vitro models and translational sciences. Combined with strong clinical development and manufacturing capabilities from other Jubilant subsidiaries, Jubilant Biosys has risen as a fully integrated contract research organisation in India and headquartered in Bengaluru with end-to-end solutions. Its brand new and state-of-the-art Chemistry Innovation Research Centre (CIRC) in Greater Noida is designed and constructed due to growing customer demand for its range of functional and integrated drug discovery services. The company has its Investigational New Drug Centre (INDC) located in Noida.
With its global reach, Jubilant Biosys provides comprehensive drug discovery services and contract research services–from target discovery to candidate selection and with flexible business models in partnership with leading worldwide healthcare companies. Jubilant also offers clients a diversity of biology services ranging from target validation, expression, structural characterisation to the establishment of in-vitro and in-vivo models suited for the testing of xenobiotics, as well as the evaluation of their safety and pharmacokinetics profiles when administered.
In addition, the company employs a proven methodology to create content databases curated from various data sources, as per customer specification. These content databases are manually curated by MSc/PhD level scientists guided through defined Good Curation Practice (GCP), controlled vocabulary & ontology. The custom curation services cover biology, chemistry and clinical trial domains across many therapeutic and disease areas.
During FY20-21, Bengaluru-based Syngene International generated a revenue of Rs 2249 crore, exhibiting a growth of 7 per cent in comparison to the revenue figure of Rs 2094 crore generated in the previous year. Owing to the pandemic, the year 2020 saw Syngene joining a global consortium of 19 organisations from the healthcare industry, led by Bristol Myers Squibb, to help inform, improve and accelerate various aspects of COVID-19 testing, ranging from research to clinical diagnostic applications.
Syngene entered into collaboration with Mumbai-based HiMedia Laboratories to manufacture and distribute its ELISA kits. HiMedia manufactured the kits at its facility in Mumbai and distributed them across India. Syngene indigenously developed an anti-COV-2 IgG ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) at its research facility in Bengaluru. This advanced highly reliable test identifies the presence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies in blood samples and confirms if a patient has been exposed to the coronavirus. It has a capacity to test samples together in a single run and generates results within three hours.
In 2020, Syngene International and Deerfield Discovery & Development Corporation (3DC), the drug discovery & development subsidiary of USbased Deerfield Management Company, signed an agreement to advance therapeutic discovery projects, from target validation to pharmacological proof of concept & preclinical evaluation. This five-year collaboration unites the core skills of the investment management company Deerfield, through its drug discovery & development arm 3DC, & Syngene’s integrated drug discovery (IDD) services. The company also helped Albireo Pharmaceuticals develop a new treatment for a genetic liver disease that affects children. The compound is currently on track to become the first approved drug for affected patients. During the year, scientists at Syngene also worked on research projects that focused on leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, inflammatory disorders, and fibrotic disorders, demonstrating the company’s growing capabilities across complex therapies. In addition to serving the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors, Syngene also strengthened its position in animal health and executed the first fully integrated development project in this sector.
The company acquired an additional 40 new clients and expanded the scope of engagement with many existing clients. A significant milestone was the extension of the strategic partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) to 2030. The dedicated facility Syngene has for BMS is its largest research facility outside of the United States and the partnership has gone from strength to strength since it was first set up in 2007.
Towards the end of the financial year, the company completed the qualification activities for its API manufacturing plant at Mangalore and the facility has been awarded GMP certification by the Indian regulatory authority. The focus is now on gaining other key regulatory approvals over the next two years. Meanwhile, Syngene is actively engaging with clients to showcase the new facility and the latest technologies available at the site.
In FY 20-21, around 2,000 employees were trained in lean process management tools. The use of productivity-enhancing tools and techniques such as Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizens have reduced waste, lowered levels of required inventory and reduced downtime, while improving on-time delivery.