Guwahati: Northeast India has a significantly higher incidence of cancer, which is three times the national average compared to the rest of the country. Some of the common cancers in the region are oral cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer. Although there are several treatment options - such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy, the region still faces challenges in terms of cancer care.
Akha Biologics, a Texas-based biotech company, is developing bispecific antibodies for treating solid tumours to enhance cancer treatment by providing high-quality therapeutics to patients. Business North East (BNE) recently spoke with the CEO and founder of Akha Biologics, Hemanta Baruah, who shared valuable insights regarding groundbreaking innovations the company plans to bring to the market.
"Akha Biologics is developing bispecific antibodies, a new generation of antibodies that target a specific type of immune cell called natural killer cells," Hemanta said while sharing that he hopes it will prove effective in treating solid tumours, which currently have limited treatment options.
The CEO affirmed that the market is still not ready for a preclinical research company like Akha Biologics. "In biotechnology, the process starts with an idea for a drug molecule. Then, preclinical research follows. By preclinical research, I mean testing the idea and its mechanism of action. We begin by conducting cell activity assays and move on to animal models. So far, we have reached the stage of animal model testing, and the data is excellent. We have compared our drug to existing drugs in the market, and ours shows superior activity. However, this is just the first stage. The next stage is clinical trials, which require strict regulatory compliance," the company's founder stated during the interview.
He further revealed that they need cell line development and large-scale manufacturing, which is expensive for biologics. "Right now, we are in the process of raising funds. We hope to close this funding round in the next few months. Once that happens, we aim to manufacture the drug and move forward with clinical trials,” he said.
“We are currently developing multiple drug candidates. Our goal is to push at least one or two molecules through clinical trials in the next couple of years. For smaller biotech companies like ours, the strategy is not to directly bring a product to market. Instead, we aim to generate Phase 1 clinical data that will excite large pharmaceutical companies, potentially leading to an acquisition. That’s the business model we are pursuing,” Hemanta told BNE when enquired about the company's primary goal.
Hemanta Baruah also said their approach is to develop monoclonal antibodies like pembrolizumab (Keytruda), well-known treatments generating blockbuster revenues—over 15 billion dollars annually, so they aim to develop innovative molecules with similar potential. "Our goal is to create assets capable of generating at least 15 billion dollars in market value once they progress through Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials and enter the market. We believe these assets can generate revenues exceeding 1 billion dollars annually," he further added.
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