PUNE: The National Chemical Laboratory scientists have initiated a research to find a new and effective drug for vitiligo — a skin disorder — in collaboration with a drug-discovery startup.
The National Chemical Laboratory and Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), both laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, recently signed a patent licensing agreement with Ahammune Biosciences Pvt Ltd for the vitiligo drug development. D Srinivasa Reddy (NCL), Rajesh S Gokhale (IGIB, on deputation from NII) and T N Vivek (IGIB) are the lead inventors of the patent.
Ahammune is a resident incubatee company of Venture Centre, NCL's technology business incubator.
As many as 80 million people in the country are affected by vitiligo. The current treatment strategies provide only temporary relief and are mostly ineffective, an NCL scientist said. The startup, Ahammune Biosciences and NCL are now striving to fulfil the medical need in the vitiligo therapeutic area.
An NCL statement said Ahammune Biosciences was an innovation-led drug discovery startup company with the vision to find a new drug for the debilitating skin disorder, vitiligo. "It is the most common depigmenting disease with over 80 million people affected by it. In vitiligo, colour-producing cells are lost from areas of skin, leaving behind white spots. The spread of depigmentation is unpredictable, ranging from days to years," added the statement.
It is a cause of immense psychological torment, with patients feeling isolated and depressed. This disease is a major concern in India, where it is considered as a social stigma because many people confuse it with leprosy.
As a part of the research, scientists would conduct further work towards potential vitiligo drug development after the patent licensing agreement.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/ncl-startup-sign-ink-pact-for-vitiligo-drug-development/articleshow/57503501.cms
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