First past the post

15 October 2009

Suven Life Science’s focussed approach on drug discovery in the central nervous system (CNS) is helping it make more headway than any other research company in the drug industry. Suven has recently secured a product patent for its new molecule SUVN-502 from India, Mexico, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand, South Korea, Australia and Europe. SUVN-502 has completed phase I studies and is entering into phase II stage of clinical research. This molecule is a clinical candidate for Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia and can corner a major market share in the $110-billion CNS therapy arena. Global CNS therapies include anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-epileptic and auto-immune drugs accounting for $22.8 billion ($14.69 billion in 2004), $ 20.3 billion ($20.64 billion in 2004), $16.9 billion ($11.57 billion in 2004) and $15.9 billion ($ 6.7 billion in 2004) market size respectively in 2008.

The company spends around 25% of sales on drug discovery which is one of the highest among drug companies. Industy’s average R&D expenditure is around 4% of total sales. The company spent Rs 35 crore on drug research in 2008-09 including Rs 29 crore in recurring expenditure. The company is doing research in six CNS categories targeting conditions such as ADHD, dementia, depression, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and obesity.

- Dhruv Rathi [email protected]