November 23, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. USA/ Noida (UP) India-Nov. 23, 2009-Jubilant Organosys, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and Southern Research Institute today announced a joint venture that will focus on leveraging their collective innovation and enabling technologies in the areas of Oncology, Metabolic Disease and Infectious Diseases. It is a unique U.S.-India arbitraged and leveraged partnership that will accelerate the development of affordable therapies for patients worldwide.  A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today in Washington, DC. Key components of the agreement include:

• Selecting the most promising biological targets discovered by biomedical researchers at UAB, Southern Research and Jubilant;
• Developing new drugs around these targets through work performed at UAB and Southern Research, and Jubilant in India;
• Using early research data to secure federal funding to create new research jobs;
• Developing drugs through Preclinical and or Phase 2 clinical trials to maximize value to potential licensees, and securing partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry; and,
• Licensing drugs to the pharmaceutical industry with revenues distributed to investment participants in milestone payments and royalty streams.

Commenting on the development Shyam S. Bhartia, Chairman and Managing Director, and Hari S Bhartia, Co-chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Organosys, said, "This novel academic and industrial collaboration demonstrates our commitment to partner with globally renowned academia in order to identify and deliver affordable innovation and healthcare solutions to the patients worldwide. We are happy to join hands with UAB and Southern Research Institute, known for its strengths in the areas of oncology, metabolic disease and infectious diseases. The collective innovation capabilities of this partnership further augments our mission to be the most innovative Drug Discovery and Development group in India, accelerating global drug development."

Jubilant,  through subsidiaries like Biosys, Chemsys and Clinsys, has developed strong partnerships in the area of research with leading academic institutions to support them in translation of early stage science and with innovative pharmaceutical companies to accelerate their drug discovery programs.

UAB receives more than $400 million annually in research grants and contracts and ranks in the top 25 nationally in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding; it is a rich source of biological targets for drug development.

"UAB has tremendous strength in research that identifies the targets - usually proteins - that contribute to the disease process, whether it is cancer or diabetes, which develop when our bodies malfunction, or a virus or bacterial infection that invades from outside," said Richard B. Marchase, UAB Vice President for Research and Economic Development. "Southern Research and Jubilant have the expertise, scientific workforce, and the equipment to take those findings and move them rapidly through the drug discovery and testing phases that lead to new commercially viable products."

Southern Research has earned worldwide acclaim for its success translating basic research into drugs that can be used to treat human illness, having discovered and helped move seven FDA-approved cancer drugs to market, with five more drugs in late-stage preclinical and early clinical studies.

"Southern Research has proven that it can help move promising drug candidates into the marketplace-our clients' drugs as well as own discoveries," said John A. "Jack" Secrist III, Ph.D., President and CEO of Southern Research Institute. "What we are creating through this joint venture is a powerful new drug discovery engine that will leverage research strengths in Alabama, as well as our collective industry strengths, to drive products to market."

About Jubilant Organosys

Jubilant Organosys Limited, an integrated pharmaceutical industry player, is the largest custom research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) Company out of India. The company has a presence across the pharmaceutical value chain for providing products and services such as proprietary products, exclusive synthesis, active pharmaceutical ingredients, contract manufacturing of sterile injectables & non-steriles products, radiopharmaceuticals, generic dosage forms, drug discovery services, medicinal chemistry services, clinical research services, and Healthcare. The Company also manufactures Industrial and Performance products. For more information: www.jubl.com.

About the UAB Research Foundation (UABRF)

The UAB Research Foundation plays a significant role in commercializing research, to the benefit of local and state economic development. The foundation's commercialization of faculty discoveries has since 1986 created more than $35 million in royalty and license fees, 1,800 invention disclosures, more than 450 patents, and more than 600 license, option and research agreements. The UABRF has assisted in the formation of 39 spin-off companies.

About Southern Research

Southern Research Institute is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 scientific research organization that conducts preclinical drug discovery and development, and advanced engineering research in materials, systems development, environment and energy. Our more than 550 scientific and engineering team members support clients and partners in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, defense, aerospace, environmental and energy industries. Southern Research is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., with facilities in Wilsonville, Ala., Anniston, Ala., Frederick, Md., and Durham, NC and offices in New Orleans, La., Washington, DC and Kiev, Ukraine. For more information about Southern Research and its capabilities and accomplishments, visit www.SouthernResearch.org.