Corning has selected Advinus Therapeutics as a partner for commercializing the Corning Epic® label-free detection technology in India. The collaboration between the two firms will allow Advinus to use Epic for its own drug discovery programs and for the provision of assay development and screening services to clients in India and internationally.
“This collaboration on Corning’s Epic technology emphasizes Advinus’ commitment to set up unique Pharma R&D services in India and to explore new and cutting-edge technologies to enhance our drug discovery capabilities,” notes Kasim Mookhtiar, Ph.D., Advinus CSO. “We are excited about the opportunities this will open for our customers and for our relationship with Corning in the area of enhanced drug discovery.”
Epic combines the benefits of label-free optical technology with high-throughput screening in a 384-well microplate for both biochemical and cell-based applications. Consisting of a disposable ANSI/SBS standard 384-well microplate with optical biosensors integrated in each well and an HTS-compatible optical reader, it enables up to 40,000 wells to be read in an 8-hour period, Corning claims.
Advinus is the pharma research and development wing of the Tata Group The company claims to be the first of its kind in India to offer end-to-end development services to the global pharma, agro, and biotech industries, in addition to carrying out internal and collaborative drug discovery programs.
The Advinus Drug Discovery unit located at Pune (near Mumbai) is developing the firm’s internal pipeline of drug candidates. With a focus on metabolic and inflammatory diseases, it plans to partner out in-house projects at the preclinical or clinical stage of development. A separate arm of in-house R&D is focused on the discovery of novel therapies for neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis and malaria.
Advinus’ pharmaceutical development operation at Bangalore offers clients worldwide a full range of preclinical to early clinical development services.
In September Advinus confirmed it was planning major expansion plans at both its Pune and Bangalore facilities. The expansion will enable the firm to broaden drug discovery and development activities to age-related disorders including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and osteoporosis. Expansion at the Bangalore site will involve the establishment of new capabilities in formulation development.