ALLIANCE CREATES NEW GENERIC DRUG RESEARCH ARM

Elite Pharmaceuticals is teaming up with VGS Pharma to create a research and development company geared toward manufacturing specialty generic drugs, the company announced.

Specialty generic drug expert Veerappan Subramanian has been appointed head of the new company, called Novel Laboratories. He has overseen more than 150 specialty and generic products through FDA approval, according to Elite.

Under the partnership, VGS (owned by a subsidiary of Par Pharmaceuticals), which made a $2 million equity investment in Elite, owns 51 percent of the new company. Elite, whose funding is contingent upon Novel achieving certain program objectives, owns 49 percent. Elite executives did not provide specifics when asked about the program objectives and/or time frames but did say that such program objectives typically are geared toward the completion of certain crucial steps necessary to take projects through the regulatory process.

Elite is a specialty pharmaceutical firm that focuses on oral, controlled-release products. The formation of Novel, along with Subramanian's appointment, is expected to strengthen the company's presence in that market. Elite Chairman and CEO Bernard Beck said that his company is focused on specialty generics and not commodity generic drugs, where the competition is fierce.