Ahmedabad-based pharma company Cadila Healthcare Ltd, which operates under the aegis of Zydus Group, has launched Lipaglyn, its patented new drug for treatment of diabetes.
Most pharma companies in India manufacture and market generic drugs. Not many are known for developing their own chemical entities which in other words means developing their original drugs.
“It has always been our dream to take a molecule right from the concept stage up to its launch. Today, we have realised this dream. It is an important breakthrough,” Pankaj Patel, chairman and managing director, Zydus Cadila, said.
The drug was approved for sale in India by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) in June. Back then Cadila said Lipaglyn is world’s first drug for treating diabetic dyslipidemia and combines lipid and glucose lowering effects in a single molecule.
Diabetic dyslipidemia is a condition where a person is diabetic and has high level of total cholesterol.
The firm had spent $250 million in developing Lipaglyn, which took nearly 12 years to fructify. The company’s management had indicated it needs to spend $150-$200 million 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 a few years. In India, the company expects to achieve sales of around Rs 100 crore in the next three years.
Lipaglyn tablets will be available across India priced at Rs 25.90 per tablet. The 4 mg tablet is recommended for a patient once a day, the company said in a statement.
According to Patel, the company is filing applications in developed markets like the US and Europe, after which it will tie up with other companies for marketing the drug.
“They have come up with a new chemical entity (NCE) which is an exciting development. Through this, Zydus is looking to build Rs 100 crore revenue in two to three years. Globally the drug will be targeted for markets such as the US and Europe and the market potential can be around $1 billion,” according to Siddhant Khandekar, chief manager – research, ICICI Securities.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
