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BIOCON REGISTERS STRONG PERFORMANCE , PROFITS UP BY 17 %
Biocon , Asia ' s premier biopharmaceuticals company , has announced that it has delivered a strong performance during the first quarter of its financial year 2016-17 . Biocon in the first quarter of the financial year 2016-17 , has reported the revenues of Rs 952 crore ; EBITDA Up 15 percent to Rs 271 crore ; net profit up by 17 percent at Rs 147 crore .
Commenting on the quarterly performance and highlights , Chairperson and Managing Director , Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw stated , " Our strong performance this quarter has been driven by an allround growth of our business across Small Molecules , Biologics , Branded Formulations and Research Services . Our Biologics business delivered a growth of 53 percent driven by the sales of biosimilars in emerging markets ."
During the quarter , Biocon ’ s Insulin Glargine  was launched in Japan through its partner FUJIFILM Pharma . Rh-Insulin became the first product from the new Malaysian facility to be approved by the Ministry of Health in Malaysia . Also , the company has won ‘ National Award for Excellence in Training and Development 2016 ’ for best training initiatives in the pharmaceutical sector .
INDIA JOINS GLOBAL EFFORTS TO DEVELOP DIAGNOSTICS TO TACKLE AMR
The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council ( BIRAC ), Department of Biotechnology , Government of India and Nesta , a United Kingdom based Charity managing the Longitude Prize , organized an outreach event on July 28 , 2016 in New Delhi to promote the Discovery Awards , which aim to create a pipeline of innovations in the Anti- Microbial Resistance ( AMR ) diagnostics . BIRAC has committed a funding of GBP 100,000 ( INR 88,39,618 ) for the Discovery Awards , to support Indian participants .
The Discovery Awards are seed grants to support teams and individuals to further develop their ideas for the Longitude Prize . The British government introduced the Longitude Award in 1714 to support scientists to solve the most pertinent challenges affecting the globe . The current call under the Longitude Prize aims to create a cost-effective , accurate , rapid , and easy-to-use diagnostic test for bacterial infections that will allow health professionals worldwide to choose the right antibiotics for the right bacteria thereby preventing antibiotic misuse and resulting resistance .
“ AMR is a serious and rising threat to global public health that requires a concerted effort from different sectors . There is an urgent need to develop rapid and affordable diagnostic tools to enable early diagnosis and identification of drug resistant strains of infection . Partnerships are crucial for technology development and we believe our collaboration with Nesta on the
Discovery Awards will provide the necessary impetus and mentorship to our Indian innovators as they solve the pressing problem posed by AMR ,” said Prof . K . VijayRaghavan , Secretary , Department of Biotechnology and Chairman , BIRAC .
SPAIN ' S ALMIRALL TO COMMERCIALIZE SUN PHARMA ' S PSORIASIS DRUG IN EUROPE
Sun Pharma and Almirall have announced a licensing agreement on the development and commercialization of tildrakizumab for psoriasis in Europe . Tildrakizumab is an investigational IL- 23p19 inhibitor currently being evaluated in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis .
Under terms of the license agreement , Almirall will pay Sun Pharma an initial upfront payment of $ 50 million . Phase-3 studies of tildrakizumab have recently been completed . Sun Pharma will be eligible to receive development and regulatory milestone payments and , additionally , sales milestone payments and royalties on net sales , the terms of which are confidential .
Almirall will be able to lead European studies , and participate in larger Global clinical studies for psoriasis indication subject to the terms of the Sun Pharma - Merck agreements , as well as certain cost sharing agreements . Sun Pharma will continue to lead development of tildrakizumab for other indications , where Almirall will have right of first negotiation for certain indications in Europe .
" Sun Pharma is committed to growing our dermatology franchise , with tildrakizumab as our lead investigational compound . We continue to build our pipeline and capabilities in this important therapeutic area of significant unmet need . We are proud to be partnering with a regional leader in dermatology , like Almirall , to bring tildrakizumab to the European market ," said Dilip Shanghvi , Managing Director , Sun Pharma .
SERUM TO INVEST WHOPPING RS 2K CRORE IN NEW VACCINE FACILITY
A brand new adult vaccine manufacturing facility worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Serum Institute will be soon established at the new biotech SEZ ( special economic zone ) in Pune . The new campus which is just a few kilometers drive from the company ' s Hadapsar headquarters , will be utilized to make high quality products for supply to the developed markets in Europe and US . Serum which is world leader in pediatric vaccines and other products supplied to the developing world , is now bullish on the lucrative markets of the developed world .
As per news reports quoting the Mr Adar Poonawalla , CEO , Serum Institute , the new manufacturing facility will go on
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BioVoiceNews | August 2016