On August 14, 2019, Sun Pharma and its subsidiaries announced that the company has entered into global licensing agreement with the CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad (CSIR-IICT), for patents related to certain compounds with potential therapeutic activity across multiple indications in Sun Pharma's specialty focus areas.1

Terms and conditions of the licensing Agreement

According to the source information as per the conditions of the licensing agreement, Sun Pharma has been granted with the global license for all present patents of CSIR along with any patent in future covered under the agreement. Sun Pharma will pay a total amount of Rs.2.40 billion. Along with this amount, the company will also pay royalties on net sales from commercialization of the products developed using these patents. Additionally, Sun Pharma will also be responsible for development, regulatory filings, manufacturing and commercialization of these potential products. It is well-known that Sun Pharma has a huge name in the field of research and development and contributes on a large scale in the development of new compounds. On the other hand, CSIR is also known for its research work and has number of patents in the field of medicine in its achievement list. With this agreement there will be an addition of the preclinical candidates to Sun Pharma's global specialty pipeline. The agreement will also help the company to proceed with the clinical trials of the potential compound in list which has been kept for hold for long which will be helpful in treating certain therapy areas with multiple indications.

The merger is a big initiative taken by the company in the field of drug development for new drug entity. CSIR-IICT is a well-recognized organization known for its quality research work. The association will certainly help in bringing the research work from various institutes into the market with funding and giving other aids from the big manufacturers like Sun Pharma.

According to the source information it will facilitate addition of pre-clinical candidates to Sun Pharma's global specialty pipeline. For the quarter ending June 2019, Sun Pharma has reduced its R&D spend. Its R&D investments for Q1-2020 was Rs. 422 crores compared to Rs 500 crores for Q1FY19.

Conclusion

Sun Pharma is a giant in the field of research and development and entering into the licensing agreement with CSIR-IICT will help the patented research work to go public. This will not only promote the discovery and development of new drug but will also make the therapy available to public at the global level.

Footnote

1 https://www.sunpharma.com/media/press-releases

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