PHARMA LITERATI

Therapeutic proteins (biosimilars) manufactured from natural sources and providing solutions for several unmet clinical needs are the next big thing in India. Adoption, growing investment and deal making in the global arena has got several Indian companies tuning in to biosimilars, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. Though the high price of biologic therapies is a great burden on healthcare costs globally and a majority of patients in India still cannot afford these drugs, Indian drug majors are stepping up investments to tap the growing opportunities overseas. While Cipla recently signed a memorandum of understanding to set up South Africa's first biosimilars manufacturing facility at a cost of nearly $91 million, Intas Pharma is gearing up for US approval for its Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) biosimilar this year. Amgen’s Neulasta is the company's second largest selling white blood cell boosting medicine, and reportedly brought in sales of $1.15 bill...

Zydus Cadila , a global healthcare provider, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, one of the world´s largest pharmaceutical companies, announced a partnership to develop vaccine for  chikungunya , an emerging infectious disease. The broad-based agreement includes early stage development to the final commercialization of the vaccine against chickungunya. There is currently no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat this virus infection. “ By partnering with Takeda on this very important research and development initiative and leveraging our development capabilities, we will be taking an all important step to prevent the disease burden which is highly prevalent in developing countries and causes suffering and disability ,” said  Pankaj R. Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Zydus group . Chikungunya has been identified in over 60 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US. “ Our belief is that chikungunya can be prevented by vaccines, and that a...

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is launching an anti-diabetic drug, teneligliptin, at an aggressive price of Rs 7 per day, almost 1/6th the price at which the established gliptins by MNCs are sold . The company said the pricing of the "breakthrough' drug, Tenglyn, is aimed at "making it affordable and accessible to diabetic patients". The drug is priced one-third of the price charged by other domestic companies, including Glenmark Pharma and Ajanta, which are selling the same drug, teneligliptin, for around Rs 20 for a day's therapy. Experts say with competition, prices of these drugs could come down later, but as of now companies are "waiting and watching" the development. Teneligliptin, a third-generation new oral anti-diabetic drug, was first launched by Glenmark in June, priced aggressively at nearly Rs 20 for a day's therapy (Rs 7,263 per year). As against this, all gliptins being sold in the market are priced around Rs 45 for a day...