Dr Reddys & Argenta Discovery achieve breakthrough

Leading drugmaker, Dr Reddys Laboratories and Argenta Discovery, the respiratory drug discovery and development company, announced on Monday a major milestone in their development programme targeting a novel disease-modifying approach to treat the underlying cause of certain chronic respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe asthma.

Argenta`s chief executive officer, Dr Christopher Ashton said, ``Just 18 months after signing the deal with Dr Reddy`s, the team has already selected the first candidate drug to proceed into pre-clinical development. We are very excited by the exceptional progress this programme has made within such a short timeframe. With GMP material already manufactured we are on target to enter Phase I in mid-2008 and Phase II in 2009. We believe we are first-in-class for this inhaled anti-inflammatory approach to treat chronic respiratory disease.``

Under the terms of the licensing agreement announced in February 2006, Argenta and the company are collaborating to identify clinical candidates against an undisclosed but proven anti-inflammatory drug target and to develop these candidates to Phase II proof-of-concept.

Ashton added,``The programme is also likely to deliver high quality back-up candidates in the near future, which is testament to the overall strength and depth of the approach. This rapid progress towards the clinic is further validation that Argenta`s innovative `fast forward` strategy for the rapid development of new respiratory medicines against well validated, precedented drug targets has achieved significant momentum. We are building a strong pipeline and have the funds to take all our programmes as far as clinical proof-of-concept.``

Shares of the company gained Rs 10.95, or 1.82%, to trade at Rs 613. The total volume of shares traded was 26,022 at the BSE. (3.17 pm, Monday)