Drug discovery alliances in India--indications, targets, and new chemical entities.

Global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been building increasingly on the skills and services offered by Indian biotech companies through strategic collaborative partnerships and alliances to fuel their in-house discovery and development pipelines. With the exception of generic press releases, however, very little has been published on the process and progress of drug discovery itself, such as the targets or modes of action involved, nor on the scientific output of such collaborations, and therefore on new chemical entities coming out of India through research collaborations. This Essay provides an analytical review of recent patents, patent applications, and peer-reviewed publications of major research alliances. It aims at highlighting their scientific output as well as the considerable bandwidth of targets and therapeutic areas involved.