Source:TOI
Banglore: Strand Life
Sciences, founded by professors at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, was
awarded a patent in the US last week for its two-year-old virtual liver
product, used by pharmaceuticals companies across the world to test new drug
toxicity in the liver.
The virtual liver—a ready-to-use software simulation—mimics normal liver functions and generates likely outcomes of new drugs before the drug is tested on animals and humans.
Industry estimates suggest that nearly 50% of new drugs fail to pass through the clinical trial stage as the drugs are shown to have side effects, in particular, toxicity issues. Of that, 60% of the cases relate to liver injuries, given that the liver is responsible for flushing out toxins from the body.
"The software will also be awarded patent right in the European region shortly," said Kalyanasundaram Subramanian, chief scientific officer of Bangalore-based Strand Life Sciences.
Founded in 2000 by a clutch of computer science and mathematics professors, Strand has captured a 30% share of the global genomic (the discipline related to genetics) market through its core business of selling software that allows research labs, academics, and pharmaceutical companies to do biological data mining and interpretation.
Last year, the US-based Biomark Capital, a dedicated life-sciences fund, bought out early investors in Strand, including West Bridge and UTI Ventures, to become the single largest non-promoter investor in the firm.
The company generates over 90% of its business from global markets, and has revenues of about Rs 45 crore, with scientific software sales accounting for 50% of the revenues. Two other businesses—consulting and diagnostic testing—contribute the remaining 50%.
In 2007, Strand began work on the virtual liver, which falls under the consulting business vertical, and applied for patent rights in 2011. The virtual liver allows the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the number, time, and expenditure associated with animal and human trials and yet be able to understand the side effects of drugs on the liver.
"We wanted to combine simulation along with experimental methods to predict toxicity early on. The simulation is made on a rat model and a human model. Based on their outcomes, we know how a drug will react," said Subramanian.
With the patent being approved, the company expects business to increase and their labs to get busier. He said that in the first year of commercializing the virtual liver, pharma companies only ran pilot projects to test the software and subsequently placed small drug testing orders.
On the lines of the virtual liver, Strand has partnered with cosmetic companies to help them test their products on virtual software created for skin and hair.
Subramanian said though the company's hands were full, "going forward if we do anything like virtual liver we would look at the cardiac segment because that's another major area of toxicity."
Strand has close to 200 employees with around 80 computer scientists and 90 life scientists, including a strategic team based out of the US.
The virtual liver—a ready-to-use software simulation—mimics normal liver functions and generates likely outcomes of new drugs before the drug is tested on animals and humans.
Industry estimates suggest that nearly 50% of new drugs fail to pass through the clinical trial stage as the drugs are shown to have side effects, in particular, toxicity issues. Of that, 60% of the cases relate to liver injuries, given that the liver is responsible for flushing out toxins from the body.
"The software will also be awarded patent right in the European region shortly," said Kalyanasundaram Subramanian, chief scientific officer of Bangalore-based Strand Life Sciences.
Founded in 2000 by a clutch of computer science and mathematics professors, Strand has captured a 30% share of the global genomic (the discipline related to genetics) market through its core business of selling software that allows research labs, academics, and pharmaceutical companies to do biological data mining and interpretation.
Last year, the US-based Biomark Capital, a dedicated life-sciences fund, bought out early investors in Strand, including West Bridge and UTI Ventures, to become the single largest non-promoter investor in the firm.
The company generates over 90% of its business from global markets, and has revenues of about Rs 45 crore, with scientific software sales accounting for 50% of the revenues. Two other businesses—consulting and diagnostic testing—contribute the remaining 50%.
In 2007, Strand began work on the virtual liver, which falls under the consulting business vertical, and applied for patent rights in 2011. The virtual liver allows the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the number, time, and expenditure associated with animal and human trials and yet be able to understand the side effects of drugs on the liver.
"We wanted to combine simulation along with experimental methods to predict toxicity early on. The simulation is made on a rat model and a human model. Based on their outcomes, we know how a drug will react," said Subramanian.
With the patent being approved, the company expects business to increase and their labs to get busier. He said that in the first year of commercializing the virtual liver, pharma companies only ran pilot projects to test the software and subsequently placed small drug testing orders.
On the lines of the virtual liver, Strand has partnered with cosmetic companies to help them test their products on virtual software created for skin and hair.
Subramanian said though the company's hands were full, "going forward if we do anything like virtual liver we would look at the cardiac segment because that's another major area of toxicity."
Strand has close to 200 employees with around 80 computer scientists and 90 life scientists, including a strategic team based out of the US.
Posted by: Gauri Shah
Faculty BII
Posts
