Suven Life Sciences plans to rise its expences

Hyderabad: Suven Life Sciences Ltd will be raising $30 million to meet its research and development expenses and for a dedicated drug discovery centre. “We have got the necessary approval to raise about $30 million at the AGM held on September 27,” Mr Venkat Jasti, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Suven Life Sciences, told Business Line here on Tuesday. Various options including FCCBs, ADRs and GDRs were being explored, he said, adding: “ ;The process will be completed before the end of current fiscal year.” The company would be using part of the proceeds for conducting clinical trials of its New Chemical Entities (NCEs) and on R&D. “We are planning to start the clinical trials of Suven 502 (for treatment of Alzheimer’s) in the last week of this month in Switzerland,” Mr Jasti said. The company, which has been aggressive on NCE development, had filed for 29 patents and had secured three patents (valid in 15 countries) in the Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders segment. In line with its focus on DDDSS, Suven would be setting up a $25-million green field centre for drug research. “The centre will act as a nodal point for drug discovery and likely to be operational from 2009,” Mr Jasti said.