Origin
Mumbai
Kalbadevi, the historic heart of Mumbai's pharmaceutical and chemical trade. Our offices at Sona Chambers sit at the centre of India's most dynamic science and commerce district.
Polysaccharide Chemistry Pvt Ltd was founded with a clear mandate: to bring polysaccharide-based therapeutics — the most structurally sophisticated class of pharmaceutical compounds — to Indian patients who had long been denied access to them. Our founding team identified a critical gap: India's pharmaceutical industry, despite its generic manufacturing strength, had no local presence in the complex polysaccharide therapeutic space.
Our first act was the development and commercialisation of Elmiron® (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium), a semi-synthetic polysaccharide derived from beechwood hemicellulose. It is among the best FDA-approved oral therapies for Interstitial Cystitis and Bladder Pain Syndrome — a condition that, in India, had been virtually undiagnosed and entirely untreated. Elmiron® is now available in two formulations: 100mg oral capsules and 50mg/mL intravesical solution, manufactured to international standards.
We are headquartered in Mumbai's Kalbadevi district — a location that speaks to our roots in India's pharmaceutical and chemical trading heritage, combined with our forward-looking clinical mission. Our work sits at the crossroads of organic chemistry, polymer science, clinical pharmacology, and medical education.
Philosophy
Three principles. No compromises.
Molecular Precision
Every therapeutic we develop begins at the molecular level. Polysaccharide chemistry is unforgiving — chain length, sulfation pattern, and degree of substitution each determine clinical outcome. We engineer with exactness.
Clinical Evidence
We do not speculate. Our decisions are grounded in peer-reviewed evidence. 35+ years of PPS data, 7 randomised controlled trials, and a rigorous meta-analysis underpin every clinical claim we make.
Unmet Need
We focus where the system has failed patients — conditions that are misdiagnosed for years, dismissed as psychosomatic, or simply untreatable because no Indian manufacturer had taken the risk. We take the risk.
From Complexity to Clarity
The most complicated molecule in biology
builds the simplest therapy.
Polysaccharides are notoriously difficult — no fixed sequence, no simple way to read or replicate their structure, and a biological role that shifts depending on where in the body they sit. Most pharmaceutical chemistry avoids this category precisely because it resists simplification.
We work the other way around. We absorb that complexity at the chemistry level so that, clinically, the therapy becomes almost deceptively simple: identify where the protective polysaccharide layer has broken down, and restore it — directly, biomimetically, without a cascade of secondary interventions.
01
Nature's most intricate polymer
Unlike DNA or protein, a polysaccharide has no genetic template dictating its sequence. Chain length, branching, and sulfation pattern all vary — making it one of the most structurally complex molecule classes in biology, and one of the hardest to synthesize with precision.
02
One chemistry, many disguises
That same complex molecule shows up everywhere disease hides: the GAG layer lining the bladder, heparan sulphate in the kidney glomerulus, chondroitin sulphate in cartilage, the glycocalyx coating blood vessels. Different organs, different symptoms — one shared molecular thread.
03
Repair the layer, not the symptom list
Conventional medicine treats each downstream symptom separately — pain relief here, anti-inflammatories there. Once you can reliably manufacture the polysaccharide itself, you repair the root surface directly. One mechanism replaces a dozen palliative ones.
04
Complexity, converted to clarity
This is the paradox we build around: mastering one of nature's most complicated molecules is what lets us offer physicians one of the simplest therapeutic ideas available — restore the layer, and the disease loses its foothold.
"We don't simplify the molecule. We let the molecule simplify the medicine."
Principle
One layer.
The Molecule
What is a Polysaccharide?
(C₅H₈O₄)ₙ
Xylopyranose repeat unit — Pentosan
Polysaccharides are long-chain carbohydrate polymers composed of monosaccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds. Unlike proteins or nucleic acids, polysaccharides derive their biological activity not from a linear sequence code, but from three-dimensional conformation, chain length, branching pattern, and — crucially for pharmaceutical applications — the degree and position of chemical modification.
In biological systems, polysaccharides serve structural roles (cellulose, chitin), energy storage functions (glycogen, starch), and — most relevant to our work — surface coating and signalling roles. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a family of linear polysaccharides that coat the epithelial surfaces of organs and mediate protection, lubrication, and cellular recognition. The bladder urothelium relies entirely on its GAG layer for barrier integrity.
The pharmaceutical application of polysaccharides represents one of the most demanding areas of pharmaceutical chemistry — the synthesis of semi-synthetic analogues that replicate natural GAG function with molecular precision and clinical reliability.
Mechanism of Action
PPS as Biomimetic Therapy
C₁₂H₁₇O₁₇S₄⁻
Structure
Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium is a semi-synthetic, polydisperse polysaccharide prepared from beechwood hemicellulose (xylan). Its backbone is a β-1,4-linked D-xylopyranose chain, sulfated at the 2 and 3 positions, with methyl ester branches at the 4 position of the terminal xylose units.
GAG → PPS
Biomimicry
PPS structurally resembles the heparan sulphate components of the bladder's natural GAG layer. When administered — orally or intravesically — it adsorbs to the urothelial surface, restoring barrier function and reducing the permeability that characterises IC/BPS pathology. The mechanism is physical restoration, not pharmacological suppression.
MW ≈ 4,000–6,000 Da
Pharmacokinetics
Following oral administration, approximately 3% of PPS is absorbed systemically. The remainder transits to the bladder via renal excretion. Urinary PPS concentrations reach levels sufficient for GAG replenishment within hours of dosing. Steady-state benefit is typically evident at 4–8 weeks, with full effect at 6 months of continuous therapy.
Clinical Evidence
35 years. 5 positive trials. One clear conclusion.
PPS has one of the most robust evidence bases in urogynaecology.
von Ophoven A, et al.
Neurourology and Urodynamics
2019 · Meta-analysis patients
Definitive meta-analysis confirming PPS superiority over placebo across all primary outcome measures in IC/BPS. Established PPS as the gold-standard pharmacological intervention.
Hanno PM, et al.
Journal of Urology
1997 · 2,809 patients
Landmark open-label study across multiple centres. Demonstrated sustained symptomatic improvement at 32 weeks with an excellent long-term safety profile, establishing the clinical durability of PPS.
Nickel JC, et al.
Canadian Urological Association Journal
2015 · 380 patients
Randomised controlled trial confirming statistically significant improvements in global response assessment, pain scores, and urinary frequency versus placebo over 24 weeks.
Sant GR, et al.
Journal of Urology
2003 · 368 patients
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. PPS demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in bladder pain and urgency, with benefits appearing from week 4 onwards.
Registered Office
Sona Chambers, Kalbadevi
Mumbai, India