What NovaLead Pharma does

NovaLead Pharma is a Pune, India-headquartered drug discovery research company that applies its proprietary Reverse Virtual High Throughput Screening (RVHTS) platform to repurpose already-approved generic drugs toward new therapeutic indications. The platform blends structure-guided and ligand-based drug design and screening, runs millions of molecular simulations on a multi-core parallel processing cluster, and is supported by a curated drug-disease-target knowledgebase that maps FDA-approved drugs, validated targets and mechanism-of-action data to potential new indications. NovaLead's lead asset, Galnobax® (a topical gel containing a repurposed generic for hard-to-heal Diabetic Foot Ulcer), completed a 350-patient Phase 3 trial in India, received CDSCO market authorization in April 2024, and is being commercialized in India as Diulcus® through a licensing deal with Ipca Laboratories announced in August 2024. A second program, NLP91, targets mild-to-moderate psoriasis and dermatitis and has a granted US patent covering broad inflammatory skin indications, with preclinical validation in progress.

The company's commercial model is asset-light and B2B: NovaLead performs discovery in-house, outsources biological validation, takes candidates through first human proof of concept, and then out-licenses to established pharmaceutical partners for marketing, sales and distribution. Revenue mechanics are licensing fees, milestone payments and royalties on partnered products, supplemented by optional customer-driven collaboration services where partners engage NovaLead's RVHTS platform to find new indications for their own molecules. The business operates across two legal entities — NovaLead Pharma Pvt. Ltd. (India headquarters and research base) and the wholly owned NovaLead Pharma Inc. (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts), which manages US clinical trials, patent filings and North American collaborations. NovaLead is privately held and venture-backed, with Tata Capital Healthcare Fund among disclosed investors and the founder (Supreet Deshpande, Managing Director) joined by CTO/co-founder Atul Aslekar and VP of Discovery Dr. Sudhir Kulkarni.

Name

NovaLead Pharma

Legal name

NovaLead Pharma Pvt. Ltd.

Website

https://novaleadpharma.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NovaLead Pharma is a Pune-based drug discovery company that uses its proprietary RVHTS platform to find new therapeutic indications for generic drugs, with lead asset Galnobax® approved in India for Diabetic Foot Ulcer and out-licensed to Ipca Laboratories as Diulcus®.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery Research and Pharmaceutical Repurposing

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead Optimization & Preclinical Candidate Selection (HLAIALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Molecule Generics (Branded/Unbranded) (HLAIABAA)

Keywords

• Drug repurposing research
• Computational drug discovery
• Virtual high throughput screening
• Diabetic foot ulcer therapy
• Pharmaceutical out-licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Pune

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Out-licensing and Partnership Deals: NovaLead out-licenses its proprietary drug candidates to pharmaceutical partners after achieving first human proof of concept. Revenue is generated through licensing fees, milestone payments, and royalty streams from commercialization partners.
2. Collaborative Research Services: Customer-driven collaboration services where NovaLead helps partners find novel indications for existing drugs using their proprietary RVHTS discovery platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NovaLead Pharma discovers new therapeutic indications for generic drugs using its proprietary Reverse Virtual High Throughput Screening (RVHTS) computational platform. Its lead product, Galnobax®, is a topical gel for non-healing Diabetic Foot Ulcer that received CDSCO market authorization in India and is licensed to Ipca Laboratories under the brand Diulcus®. Secondary candidate NLP91 is a US-patent-granted psoriasis treatment based on a repurposed FDA-approved generic molecule.

Product overview

NovaLead Pharma is a drug discovery research company focused on discovering new indications for generic drugs using its proprietary RVHTS (Reverse Virtual High Throughput Screening) technology platform. The company operates two main product candidates: Galnobax® (a topical gel for Diabetic Foot Ulcer) and NLP91 (a psoriasis candidate). The company also out-licenses its discoveries after first human proof of concept, as exemplified by the Diulcus® licensing to Ipca Laboratories. The discovery pipeline is managed through NovaLead Pharma Inc., a wholly owned US subsidiary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Galnobax®: Topical gel for non-healing chronic wounds in diabetics; repurposed generic drug molecule that completed Phase III clinical trial successfully meeting primary and secondary endpoints for DFU treatment; received CDSCO market authorization in India
• NLP91
• Diulcus®

Products and services

• Galnobax® A topical gel for non-healing chronic wounds of diabetics, specifically for Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU). Repurposed generic drug molecule that re-triggers natural wound healing processes impaired due to diabetic condition. Completed Phase-III clinical trial successfully meeting both primary and secondary endpoints for wound closure and safety.
• NLP91 Psoriasis candidate based on an FDA-approved generic drug molecule with novel anti-inflammatory activity for inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis and dermatitis. Discovered using in-silico RVHTS technologies and validated by in vitro studies. Currently under pre-clinical validations in animal models.
• Diulcus® Licensed repurposed drug marketed by Ipca Laboratories in India for treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU). Launched as a pivotal treatment option for DFU patients in the Indian market.
• RVHTS Technology Platform Reverse Virtual High Throughput Screening platform that blends structure-guided and ligand-based drug design and screening approaches. Includes flexible receptor-drug docking, molecular shape similarity identification, fragment-to-activity relationship studies, and active site structure analysis. Employs drug-disease-target knowledgebase and multi-core parallel processing for molecular simulations. Offered for product life-cycle management, reviving shelved compounds, and customer-driven indication discovery.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ipca LaboratoriesflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 August 2024NovaLead licensed its patented repurposed drug Galnobax® (marketed as Diulcus®) to Ipca Laboratories for marketing, sales and distribution in India market. The launch of Diulcus® marks a pivotal moment for people suffering from Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU). NovaLead is actively exploring out-licensing the product in other territories.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pharnext: Pharnext is a French clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in drug repurposing, applying combinations of existing drugs to new indications such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Comparable to NovaLead in its core strategy of repositioning known molecules for new therapeutic uses.
• Biovista: Biovista is a drug repositioning company that uses computational and AI-driven approaches to discover new indications for existing drugs, similar to NovaLead's RVHTS platform. Both companies monetize through partnerships and out-licensing of repurposed candidates.

Emerging players

• Healx: Healx is an AI-driven drug repurposing company focused on rare diseases, leveraging computational prediction of drug-indication pairs. Comparable to NovaLead as a tech-enabled repurposing platform seeking to in-license and develop new indications for existing molecules.
• Atomwise: Atomwise applies AI-based small molecule discovery and structure-based design through its AtomNet platform, partnering with pharma companies to identify novel hits and repurposing opportunities. Comparable as a technology-driven, partnership-focused discovery peer to NovaLead's RVHTS model.
• Cyclica: Cyclica is a Toronto-based computational drug discovery company using AI and biophysics for polypharmacology and drug repurposing. Comparable to NovaLead as a computational platform that emphasizes drug-target interaction analysis and partnership-driven business model.

Broad incumbents

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Recursion is a clinical-stage biotech using high-throughput biology and AI to discover new drug candidates at scale. Like NovaLead, it applies computational and systematic approaches to accelerate discovery, though at significantly larger scale and broader therapeutic scope.
• Insilico Medicine: Insilico Medicine is a clinical-stage AI drug discovery company combining generative chemistry, target identification, and repurposing. Comparable to NovaLead in applying computational platforms to drug discovery, though operating at broader therapeutic scale and with proprietary novel chemistry.
• Organogenesis: Organogenesis is a US-listed commercial-stage regenerative medicine company focused on advanced wound care including diabetic foot ulcers. Comparable to NovaLead in serving the DFU market, though with a portfolio of cell- and tissue-based products rather than topical repurposed drugs.

Others

• VLife Sciences Technologies: VLife Sciences Technologies is an Indian computational drug discovery company whose platform NovaLead explicitly references on its website as the related technology ecosystem. Founders have historical ties, making VLife a closely related platform peer.

Regional players

• Connexios Life Sciences: Connexios Life Sciences is an India-based drug discovery company developing small molecules for cardiometabolic and related diseases. Comparable as a regional, platform-driven drug discovery peer with similar therapeutic focus on diabetes-adjacent indications.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NovaLead Pharma