Laurus Labs, IIT-Kanpur to collaborate for novel gene therapy

The drug manufacturer will also fund the clinical trials and launch the products in India and emerging markets. Additionally, it will establish a GMP (good manufacturing practice) facility at the Techno Park facility of IIT-K, Laurus said on Monday.

Laurus Labs has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with IIT-Kanpur (IIT-K) to in-license a few gene therapy assets and extend a research grant to the premier institution for advancing the products through pre-clinical development.

The drug manufacturer will also fund the clinical trials and launch the products in India and emerging markets. Additionally, it will establish a GMP (good manufacturing practice) facility at the Techno Park facility of IIT-K, Laurus said on Monday.

The Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BSBE) at IIT-K has been working on a gene therapy for the last few years and have developed a few gene therapy assets along with technology for novel Adeno Associated Virus (AAV) vectors. It has filed IPs around these products and a few additional patent applications will be filed in due course, the company said.

Besides a pointer to the company’s focus on the emerging cell and gene therapy (CGT) space, the partnership also serves as a unique model for industry-academia collaboration, Laurus Labs CEO Satyanarayana Chava said. “These novel therapies are not available in India and emerging markets and the collaboration will help bring them to Indian patients at an affordable price. Additionally, this allows Laurus labs to offer CDMO services to cell and gene therapy companies,” the company said.

“The partnership with Laurus Labs will enable affordable treatment to some of the difficult-to-treat disorders in the years to come,” IIT-K director Abhay Karandikar said.