Syngene International, an integrated research, development and manufacturing services company, announced that it has extended its ongoing research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. The collaboration has been extended through the end of 2030 and will expand the breadth of drug discovery research conducted, including chemistry, biology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, as well as translational medicine research and pharmaceutical development, including chemical process development and analytical sciences, in the coming years. The extension envisions a 40% increase in the number of scientists and the addition of a new 50,000ft² dedicated laboratory space.
Jonathan Hunt, MD and CEO, Syngene International, said: “For more than twenty years we have considered our work with Bristol Myers Squibb to set the benchmark for integrated research collaborations and are delighted with our joint commitment to extend this collaboration until at least the end of the decade, as well as expand our focus to new areas of science. I have every confidence that together we will continue to deliver science that will improve the lives of patients around the world.”
Gregory Vite, PhD, Senior Vice-President, Small Molecule Drug Discovery, Bristol Myers Squibb, said: “We greatly value our collaboration with Syngene International and are proud to extend and expand our work together. The dedicated facilities and scientific team at Syngene play an important role in helping us realize our vision to transform patients’ lives through science.”
Syngene and Bristol Myers Squibb’s collaboration dates back to 1998 and the dedicated Biocon BMS Research and Development Center (BBRC), Syngene’s first dedicated R&D Center, was fully commissioned in 2009. Over many years of collaboration, the BBRC has become a major strategic R&D site for Bristol Myers Squibb that provides integrated services in target identification, lead discovery, lead optimization, early-stage and late-stage pharmaceutical development, molecular and cell biology, protein sciences, assay biology, and clinical biomarkers, amongst others. The centre is the largest research and development alliance for Bristol Myers Squibb, covering several areas of integrated drug discovery and development research activities in the various therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, fibrosis, immunology and oncology. About 500 Syngene scientists currently work in the centre on discovery and development projects as part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s global research team.
Since its inception, the BBRC has contributed to the discovery and pre-clinical development of numerous drug candidates for further studies and research performed at the Center has contributed to many worldwide patent filings. The BBRC has played a key role in reducing the time and costs associated with advancing new compounds to first-in-human studies for Bristol Myers Squibb.