Drug firm Zydus Cadila today said it has inked an agreement with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Institute of Microbial Technology - to identify new drug candidates for treatment of drug resistant infections.

The collaborative research agreement will see scientists from both organisations working together on microbiology and genomics to identify a new lead candidate as a novel anti-tuberculosis compound, Zydus Cadila said in a filing to the BSE.

Commenting on the development, Zydus Cadila Chairman Pankaj Patel said: “We are committed to support the End TB Strategy.” Given the vast scientific experience of the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) in microbial-related research, and Zydus’ expertise in drug discovery and development, “we welcome this opportunity to partner with CSIR-IMTECH and hope to deliver new therapies for the nation,” he added.

A positive outcome from such collaborative efforts could define the way drug discovery would be carried out in future in India via public-private partnerships, the statement said. For this project, scientists at IMTECH would utilise their expertise and scientific knowledge in microbiology, while Zydus Cadila will provide expertise in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical drug development to develop new drug combinations against drug-resistant pathogens, which causes severe diseases in India and across the world, it added.

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