NICHOLAS PIRAMAL ENTERS DIABETES DRUG-DISCOVERY AGREEMENT

Nicholas Piramal India and Napo Pharmaceuticals have entered into an agreement to discover new diabetes therapeutic agents. As part of the agreement, Nicholas will use its high throughput screening facility and natural product chemistry expertise along with biological testing capabilities to identify active compounds from Napo's library of tropical plant extracts. Napo and Nicholas will jointly own all products that are developed under the agreement.

"This agreement allows us to utilize our state-of-the-art screening capabilities and expertise in working with natural products for both companies' benefit," Somesh Sharma, chief security officer of Nicholas, said.

Nicholas is one of India's largest pharmaceutical companies and is currently ranked fourth in the Indian market with a diverse product portfolio spanning nine therapeutic areas, according to the company. Nicholas has a long track record of successful collaboration with large and medium-sized innovator companies.