The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed several ongoing research trials, according to Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Limited (SPARC), which stated this during its 17th Annual General Meeting last week.
The clinical stage bio-pharmaceutical division of pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharmaceutical, SPARC, began to see an increase in New Chemical Entity (NCE) assets under clinical development in the patient recruitment last year after experiencing difficulties with Covid-19-related issues in previous years.
There are numerous key clinical trials ongoing that should benefit the company’s operations. Patients are still being accepted for studies on psoriasis, lewy body dementia, chronic myelogenous leukaemia, and atopic dermatitis. SPARC also started the phase 1 investigation for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
“At the previous AGM, we had received the shareholders’ consent to fund an extra sum up to Rs 1,800 crores, which was valid for one year, in order to develop our pre-clinical assets and to increase our R&D pipeline. Due to unfavourable market conditions, the aforementioned capital raise could not be completed. Since it needs to raise up to Rs 1,800 crore ($225 million) to fund its expansion goals, the company is seeking new clearance through an enabling resolution, according to Dilip Sanghvi, chairman, SPARC.