Charlottetown, PEI-based Emergence client, Somru BioScience, has announced a joint venture with Radiant Pharmaceuticals of Bangladesh that will greatly improve the tools available for early diagnosis of diseases like diabetes and cancer in that country.
The joint venture, expected to create $50 million in export sales over the next five years and add 100 new jobs to Somru’s PEI operation, was announced Friday, August 25, by Mohammed Moin, Vice President of Somru, and Abu Shahriar Zahedee, Executive Director of Radiant.
The companies were joined by MP Sean Casey, representing the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA); and the Honourable Heath MacDonald, provincial Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, at a signing ceremony.
Based on strong market demand, both companies have agreed to enter into a joint venture agreement to establish and operate an independent state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory in Bangladesh.
Radiant will market Somru-developed biomarker-based laboratory test kits for diabetic and oncology patients in Bangladesh.
By setting up the joint venture, the companies will take a major step forward to bring the first affordable, reliable and accurate advanced diagnostic service to Bangladesh.
“We look forward to a fast expansion in Bangladesh to strengthen our footprint in the growing health sector, leveraging our own unique products and technical expertise developed in Canada for international markets,” Mohammed Moin, Vice President of Somru, told us.
“We are committed to further improving health services through collaborations and partnerships, working in concert with our Canadian partner Somru to address the growing health care needs of citizens of Bangladesh,” said Mr. Abu Shahriar Zahedee, Executive Director of Radiant.
MP Sean Casey extended his congratulations and said that “It is rewarding to see Somru Bioscience succeeding in global markets.”
With the goal of making a better life for his family, Mohammed Moin immigrated to Prince Edward Island on a student visa – and ended-up building Somru BioScience from scratch.
According to PEI’s Economic Development and Tourism Minister, Heath MacDonald, “[Somru] is helping grow our bioscience industry into the kind of economic force that demonstrates – despite our small size – how mighty Prince Edward Island can be.”
Somru is currently building a new 5000 square foot lab and manufacturing facility in the BioCommons Research Park in Charlottetown, and has facilities in the West Royalty Industrial Park and the Duffy Research Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island. A partnership with the Atlantic Veterinary College, and financing from ACOA and Finance PEI have been key to the company’s growth to date.
About Somru BioScience Inc.
Somru Bioscience Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Somru has developed and qualified innovative proprietary tools, apparatus, with global quality, for assessment of the disease indicative biomarkers, both protein and genes, therapeutic drug and anti-drug antibody monitoring.
About Radiant Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Radiant Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is a company based in Bangladesh, engaged in manufacturing, importing, marketing and distributing of pharmaceutical, herbal, nutraceutical and diagnostic products. From the very inception, Radiant has been instrumental in promoting technology transfer through establishing collaborative relations with internationally reputed companies.