Ahmedabad-based Cadila Healthcare Ltd said on Wednesday it has got approval from the Indian drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) to launch what it claimed is the first indigenously developed new chemical entity (NCE) Lipaglyn, which can be used to treat a certain type of diabetes.
“Lipaglyn provides patients suffering from diabetic dyslipidemia the option of a once-daily oral therapy that has a beneficial effect on both lipid parameters as well as glycemic control,” said Pankaj Patel, chairman and MD of Zydus Cadila.
“We have realised our dream of taking a molecule right from the concept stage up to its launch,” said Patel.
Diabetic dyslipidemia is a condition where a person is diabetic and has high level of total cholesterol.
In a press statement, the firm said Lipaglyn is world’s first drug for treating diabetic dyslipidemia and combines lipid and glucose lowering effects in one single molecule.
The company’s management has said it needs to spend $150-$200 million more to launch the drug outside India and expects it to be a blockbuster drug, which means it expects revenues of over $1 billion sales a year globally from the product. In India, the company expects to achieve sales of around Rs 100 crore in the next three years.
“We expect the full impact of the drug to be visible in FY2015. On a conservative basis, the company can add Rs 30-50 crore in FY2015 on the sales front,” said Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP – Research, Pharma of Angel Broking.
According to Nangra, around 350 million people are estimated to be suffering from diabetics globally. Of this, 85 per cent are suffering from diabetic dyslipidemia. In India, around 65 million people are diabetics and around 52 million suffer from diabetic dyslipidemia.
Cadila Healthcare has been actively looking for expansion over the last few years. The company acquired Biochem Pharmaceuticals and Germany based animal drug company Bremer Pharma GmbH in 2011.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)