Dr Reddy's Laboratories and 7TM Pharma sign drug research pact

Mumbai: Pharmaceutical firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) today announced that it has signed a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Denmark's7TM Pharma for treatment of metabolic disorders, for an undisclosed sum.

7TM Pharma is a biotech company focused mainly on discovery and development of new drugs targeting 7TM receptors. 7TM Pharma's primary therapeutic area is metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Under the terms of agreement, Dr Reddy's and 7TM Pharma would collaborate to identify clinical candidates for pre- selected targets. Both firms would also jointly develop these candidates from the pre-clinical stage up to up to proof-of-concept stage (Phase IIa).

On successful completion of a Phase IIa study, the companies have the option to either license-out the candidate to a larger pharmaceutical firm for further development and commercialisation or jointly continue the co-development and commercialisation.

"7TM has established a track record as one of the leading drug discovery companies focusing on GPCRs, and we are excited at the prospects of combining 7TM's capabilities with Dr Reddy's to discover and develop innovative products," said Rajinder Kumar, president of research, development and commercialisation, Dr Reddy's.