INDIA'S BIOCON INVESTS $10 MILLION IN ANTIBODY UNIT

India-based Biocon Biopharmaceutical has invested $10 million for its cell-culture fermentation and aseptic unit for the development of autoimmune, metabolic and anticancer drugs, the company reported.

Eighteen of Biocon's antibody drugs have already been approved for drug development globally, and 30 percent of the drugs in the approval stage by the U.S. FDA are monoclonal antibodies. In clinical trials, the company's BIOMAb EGFR — an epidermal growth factor receptor for head and neck cancer — has shown positive results in terms of disease regression and survival.

BIOMAb EGFR will be filed for approval with the Drugs Control General of India within one month, the company reported. The drug, which has already undergone clinical trials at hospitals in Bangalore and Mangalore, will be also tested be on hospital patients across the country.