Advinus Therapeutics, a Tata group company, has signed a Drug Discovery Agreement with Johnson and Johnson subsidiary, Ortho-Mc-Neil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. 

The company which is only into its third year has other ambitious projects to its credit like an agreement with Merck for two programs in metabolic diseases. Advinus specializes in metabolic ,inflammation and neglected diseases. 

Also alliances with Geneva Based Drugs For Neglected Diseases(DNDi)for fatal infectious tropical disease Kala azar and another with Genzyme Corp and Medicines for Malaria Venture for anti-malaria drugs. 

The company has not decided the sphere of work with Ortho-Mc-Neil as yet, but states "it will be in areas in which we have competencies”. According to the deal, Advinus will receive an extraordinary Rs 1,150 crores for development of novel targets. This is the largest deal for the company so far.

Although Tata is the majority shareholder in the company, the minority equity is held by Rashmi H Barbhaiya and Kasim A Mookhtiar, Chief Scientific Officer in Advinus. 

The company has its office in Pune with 450 employees and a turn over of Rs80 crores. But now they plan to increase the work force to 500 and predict a turn over of Rs100 crores this year. The Tata sons had invested 200 crore in the firm,"We are close to break-even,” the said, Chairman R Gopalkrishan.