Bangalore-based biotech major Biocon has filed 266 patent applications globally so far and has been granted 37 patents, including eight in the US.
Of the 266 patent applications, 76 have been filed under the International Patent Cooperation Treaty, said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon, in her report to Biocon shareholders.
The recent acquisition of Nobex IP assets has greatly enhanced Biocon's scientific and technical resources.
"With an additional 300 plus patents and patent applications, we now have one of the industry's leading IP portfolios of naturally occurring peptides for therapeutic utility," she added.
The acquisition of Nobex's IP assets has allowed Biocon to own and continue the on-going oral insulin and oral B-type natriuretic peptide programmes, and gain access to additional technologies and therapeutic processes.
The company is working on initiatives to leverage these proprietary assets through a combination of licensing and co-development partnerships.
"Our focus on IP and technology is our key differentiator. We are committed to the development of comprehensive scientific infrastructure to provide support to all our research and development programmes," said Shaw.
Biocon needs sufficient critical mass of both human expertise and technical resources. It has started investing in R&D facilities and fund discovery-related programmes for new molecules.
"In line with this strategy, we are setting up new laboratories to facilitate expansion of our combined research activities. We plan to bring in specialised scientific and regulatory skills and further invest in infrastructure for the biologics pilot plant to produce molecules for Phase I and II clinical trials," she added.
Acknowledging Biocon's contribution for various breakthroughs in medicine, Shrikumar Suryanarayan, president (R&D), was appointed as honorary visiting faculty at the department of molecular medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
The institute has formally initiated collaboration in research and research education. An MoU was signed between Biocon and Karolinska Institute in this regard.
This partnership will provide valuable access to a world of medical knowledge and scientific training, together with opportunities for exchange of scientists, she further added.