Enzene Biosciences announces India launch of colorectal cancer drug Bevacizumab

Pune: Enzene Biosciences announced the India launch of Bevacizumab, a biosimilar of Avastin used to treat metastatic colorectal cancer. An alternative to the more expensive Avastin biologic, Bevacizumab is the sixth biosimilar from Enzene Biosciences’ biosimilar pipeline that has been launched in the Indian market. Aimed at penetrating the Indian market for Bevacizumab which is valued at ~₹260 crore, Enzene’s version is the first of its kind to be manufactured using the firm’s patented continuous manufacturing process at its Pune facility.

Dr Himanshu Gadgil, CEO, Enzene Biosciences Ltd while discussing the launch of Bevacizumab stated that one of the problems they were trying to solve was to disrupt the cost barriers in the biosimilars market because India has been developing biosimilars for quite some time but the affordability has remained a big concern and patients end up paying.

Dr Gadgil stated, “We've been trying to look at technologies that will allow us to further kind of bring down that cost barrier and make it more accessible and affordable to patients. So, with that in mind in 2016 when we first started around initially, we started looking at technologies that would allow us to do that. And one of the technologies was this fully integrated continuous manufacturing technology and the reason why it is cost-effective is because the productivity is significantly high and the footprints are very low.

Emphasising that the purpose of Enzene is to make products for Indian patients Dr Gadgil added that they don’t want to be the company that makes products for bigger markets where the profit margins are higher.

Commenting on the patented continuous manufacturing platform, he added that they are one of the few companies that deploy continuous integrated process and they have partnered with US-based firms with whom they are making their novel biologics that are difficult to express and it works very well on this platform.

Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanised monoclonal IgG1 antibody that is effective against vascular endothelial growth factor called VEGF and it is also used in the treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer and glioblastoma. Bevacizumab binds to VEGF and subsequently inhibits its receptor binding process, thereby preventing the growth of the tumour and cancerous cells in affected patients.

Considered the sixth most common form of cancer in India, colorectal cancer patients in the country will be the ultimate benefactors as Enzene’s Bevacizumab will be supplied at a radically lower cost to the company’s B2B partners such as Alkem Laboratories and other big pharma players. Moreover, with its significantly smaller production facility and lower carbon emissions, Enzene Biosciences is also addressing the current need for more ecologically sustainable manufacturing operations.

The company has multiple biosimilars and synthetic peptides that are in the development and clinical stage, for the delay of imminent pre-term birth and the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus, chronic idiopathic constipation and osteoporosis. A subsidiary of Alkem Laboratories, the company is emerging as a key player in the domestic biosimilar market and the global CDMO space, and is securing India’s position as an innovative manufacturing hub that is catering to the world’s healthcare needs.