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Business News/ Companies / Cipla to partner with US drug maker Merck to sell HIV drug in India
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Cipla to partner with US drug maker Merck to sell HIV drug in India

The firm will promote and distribute MSD Pharma's HIV drug 'raltegravir' in India

Raltegravir, a third-line therapy treatment will be a value addition to Cipla’s portfolio of HIV/AIDS treatment, especially for those patients who are resistant to the first and second-line therapy treatment. Photo: Mint Premium
Raltegravir, a third-line therapy treatment will be a value addition to Cipla’s portfolio of HIV/AIDS treatment, especially for those patients who are resistant to the first and second-line therapy treatment. Photo: Mint

Mumbai: Cipla Ltd, India’s second-largest drug maker by market share, said on Thursday that it has formed an India-specific strategic partnership with MSD Pharma India Pvt. Ltd, the Indian unit of US drug maker Merck and Co. Inc., to co-market the later’s anti-HIV drug Raltegravir.

MSD sells this drug, used for treating HIV-1 infection in adult patients as part of combination HIV therapy, under the brand name Isentress in India and other markets.

The partnership is significant as it’s the first such effort by Cipla, which took on multinational drug firms in the anti-HIV markets in India and other developing markets by offering these drugs at a fraction of the foreign rivals’ price, to collaborate with a multinational firm to sell an HIV drug in India.

According to the partnership, Cipla will have a non-exclusive licence to market, promote and distribute this drug in India under a different brand name.

“With Cipla’s history of a strong marketing network of HIV drug marketing reaching the far corners of the country, it is well placed to ensure this key medication reaches the patients who need it," the company said.

Access to treatment and patient-centric approach are the cornerstone to this partnership, (as) with this model both companies expect to broaden reach of raltegravir in private and public markets in India. Access to raltegravir is important for patients who require it as part of third-line salvage regimen where there are few options left, it added.

“MSD is committed to developing innovative therapies that offer advances in the treatment of infectious diseases—including HIV," said K.G. Ananthakrishnan, managing director, MSD in India.

“This partnership is aligned with our commitment towards patients in India and also addressing treatment challenges for high-risk patients by providing broader access to our innovative medicines and vaccines. It is a complementary partnership as MSD brings scientific excellence for raltegravir, and Cipla brings their marketing excellence and significant reach, among key clinician categories, to drive product access," added Ananthakrishnan.

Raltegravir, a third-line therapy treatment will be a value addition to Cipla’s portfolio of HIV/AIDS treatment, especially for those patients who are resistant to the first and second-line therapy treatment.

The total number of people living with HIV/AIDS in India is around 2.09 million in 2011, according to industry estimates. Children less than 15 years of age account for 7% (145,000) of all infections, while 86% are in the age-group of 15-49 years.

For MSD Pharma, it is the third such marketing alliance in India. The firm, which followed a collaborative model in India for market expansion, signed a co-marketing agreement with Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd for promoting two of its diabetes drugs, Sitagliptin and a combination of Sitagliptin and Metformin, in the local market in April 2011.

These diabetes drugs, marketed by MSD in the local market under brand names Januvia and Janumet, are sold by Sun Pharma as well under different brand names.

MSD also has a similar agreement with drug maker Lupin Ltd to co-market a pneumonia vaccine. Under this India-specific alliance, Lupin has a non-exclusive licence to market, promote and distribute MSD’s 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine under a different brand name.

“Under the partnership with Cipla, which is again an India-specific alliance, MSD will supply the product from its Singapore factory," said Ananthakrishnan.

Raltegravir, a patented anti-HIV drug of MSD, is already available in India.

“But this partnership will not actually benefit all patients as Cipla does not supply to the National AIDS Control Programme," says Leena Menghaney, access campaigner at non-profit health organization Doctors Without Borders.

“We have introduced most of our drugs in India including Isentress (Raltegravir) at very local market-specific prices. With Cipla’s extensive reach in the local anti-HIV market, patient access to this drug can be increased substantially now," Ananthakrishnan said in a phone interview on Thursday.

In early 2011, Merck formed a joint venture in India with Sun Pharma to develop and commercialize a broad range of generic products for its emerging markets. The joint venture, which has progressed substantially in terms of product development, is likely to register the first lot of products in some of the emerging markets, including India, this year, according to a senior executive from Merck.

Merck’s emerging markets president Kevin Ali, who heads a business region comprising some 116 countries including India, had said in an interview that emerging markets will contribute a quarter of Merck’s global sales by next year.

“So you see the importance of these markets not only by scale but also in the context of the significance to the company. Emerging markets, in general, and India, in particular, are critical for the company to succeed for a variety of reasons," he said.

In India, Merck is always looking for more partnerships, either by expanding current partnerships with more responsibilities with them or looking for new partners in other areas of business. “We go by the strength of the partners and, for us, partnerships are the way to grow," he said in a December interview.

Cipla shares dropped 0.56% to 371.20 on Thursday on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex lost 0.9% to 20,536.64 points.

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Published: 20 Feb 2014, 01:43 PM IST
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