Syngene International – an integrated research, development and manufacturing services company – has tasted success in drug discovery. The company has helped Albireo Pharmaceuticals in developing a cure to liver disease and C4 Therapeutics achieve success in the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative conditions.

Syngene’s CEO and Managing Director Jonathan Hunt said: “Like any company, we value our clients and are proud of the work that we do for them and never more so than we see our clients enjoying success.”

Albireo announced in September that its compound Odevixibat had met both primary endpoints in its Phase-III clinical study. This drug will have a life-changing impact on patients, particularly children suffering from a particular genetic liver disease.

“So it is an important piece of scientific news, and for Syngene, this approval is the result of many months of work in our chemical development labs where we delivered several campaigns of drug substance starting from registration batches to Phase-III, and we continue to work with the company as it makes its regulatory filings,” Hunt told analysts.

C4 Therapeutics recently completed a successful IPO. Hunt said: “This biopharmaceutical company develops novel therapeutic candidates for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative conditions through highly specific targeting and disruption at disease causing proteins, a process called Targeted Protein Degradation. C4 Therapeutics is a recognised leader in this ground breaking field, and Syngene has conducted many discovery research projects for them over the last three years.”

Talking about the company’s involvement in Covid-19-related activities, he said: “Syngene continues to make an active contribution to the fight against Covid-19. In addition to processing Covid-19 tests for hospitals in our dedicated RT-PCR testing lab, the company’s now tied up with more than 50 organisations and companies in and around Bengaluru to conduct RT-PCR tests for their employees.”
“We are manufacturing and supplying reagents, primers and probes for Covid-19 diagnostic testing kits as well as working on research projects related to vaccine development. And, we have also started the process of manufacturing Remdesivir, and this is in line with the voluntary licence agreement we signed with Gilead earlier this year and the subsequent technology transfer,” he added.

The Syngene Elisa kit developed together with HiMedia has also received the required approvals. “I think that will be in the market shortly with HiMedia taking the lead in distribution, sales and commercialisation.”