The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has developed a new expression system of mature lysostaphin molecule and obtained a patent covering more than 100 countries including the US. Bharat Biotech is one of the few companies in the world to have this unique molecule patented and plans to take it further by conducting animal and clinical trials.

The company is scouting for a partner to outlicence the molecule for further development and commercialisation. It is currently in talks with two US-based companies,” says chairman and managing director Krishna Ella.

The development assumes significance as the US-based Biosynexus had recently licensed out the pro-lysostaphin anti-bacterial technology for a $15.4-million deal from Ambi Inc for developing and marketing new drugs for human application. Moreover, the Bharat Biotech molecule has a wider range of application in skin and tissue infections among others, and reacts faster than pro-lysostaphin, Dr Ella claims on the basis of the evidences gathered from administering the molecule to transgenic animals.

The molecule was under development for two years at the Centre for biotechnology under the Central department of council of scientific and industrial research, and further research was conducted at the company for a year before getting it patented. The centre for bitechnology will be entitled to royalties under an agreement, says Dr Ella.

Global Market potential for the molecule is pegged at $12 billion, of which human infection and animal infection in the US alone is around $2 billion and $1.7 billion respectively. In the US alone, 5 lakh patients are hospitalised annually due to this infection and 30 per cent of mortality from endocarditis is caused by S.aureus.

Broadly, lysostaphin is an enzyme and the new molecule cloned and expressed in bacteria has been found effective in treating intoxication and infections. It helps in getting out the toxic effect from a hospitalised patient who was administered anti-bacterial drugs.