BMS and Syngene Internatio?nal Extend Research Collaborat?ion

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Syngene International, India’s largest contract research organization, have announced a 5-year extension of their drug discovery and development collaboration in India. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Since 2007, BMS has been working with Syngene and its corporate parent, Biocon Ltd, to develop integrated capabilities in medicinal and process chemistry, biology, biotechnology, biomarkers, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, analytical research, and pharmaceutical development at the Biocon BMS Research Center (BBRC) in Bangalore.

The US-India collaboration has produced six drug candidates for further study and also helped BMS reduce the time and costs associated with advancing new compounds to first-in-human studies. One drug candidate currently in clinical trials was discovered at BBRC and early nonclinical development work done at BBRC has enabled most of BMS’s small molecule assets to advance to later stages of development during the last 5 years.

Commenting on the new agreement, Peter Bains, director, Syngene International, said: “We are extremely delighted to extend our discovery and development partnership with BMS for another 5 years. This extension reflects the strength of our existing collaboration, which has delivered many successful outcomes. The scope of Syngene’s engagement has expanded to encompass a broad range of integrated service offerings across the drug discovery and development continuum. We remain committed to supporting BMS in their pursuit of developing new and innovative medicines for the future.”

Francis Cuss, executive vice president and chief scientific officer, BMS, said: “I am excited about the opportunity to continue our highly productive collaboration with Biocon and Syngene. The BBRC has supported the nonclinical development of a large proportion of our small-molecule portfolio assets since its inception, and is a premier example of the high-quality innovative drug hunting that is taking place in India today.”

BMS and Syngene jointly developed the BBRC at Biocon Park in Bangalore. Over the years, BBRC has become BMS’s largest research and development center outside the US, housing more than 400 scientists.