Hyderabad: The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) and University of Hyderabad (UoH) have joined hands to initiate a project on discovery and development of anti-psoriatic drugs.

The three entities today signed an agreement in this regard.

The venture, valued at Rs 1.90 crore, has been sponsored by DST and DRL, it said.

Psoriasis is a autoimmune disease which is characterised by patches of abnormal skin.

The market size for drugs for psoriasis and other skin disorders is currently about USD 6-7 billion and expected to reach about USD 13 billion in a span of 10 years, it said.

Most approved therapies for psoriasis are symptomatic. The specific disease modifying therapies include monoclonal antibodies, which are expensive and have safety and tolerability issues, the release said.

The project proposes development of selective inhibitors of 12R-LOX (a type of enzyme) by employing conventional as well as the molecular modelling and drug design approaches, the release said.