BackEli Lilly shares MDR-TB drug technology with Shasun Pharma
Shasun Pharma currently supplies the drug ingredient in the domestic market
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Mumbai: US drug maker Eli Lilly and Company said on Thursday that it had shared the manufacturing technology for Cycloserine, a second line antibiotic meant for the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with India’s Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd as part of its ongoing programme to increase access of these medicines in countries including India, China, Russia and South Africa, where drug-resistant TB is most prevalent.
Shasun Pharma, which is set to be merged with Bangalore-based drug exporter Strides Arcolab Ltd shortly, currently supplies the active pharma ingredient of the drug in the domestic market.
Eli Lilly’s technology transfer programme was part of its response to a dramatic global rise in MDR-TB cases in the late 1990s and early 2000. Until that time, Eli Lilly manufactured and supplied nominal quantities of two TB medicines—capreomycin and cycloserine. After independent researchers found that these two TB medicines were also effective in treating drug-resistant TB, Eli Lilly doubled production and subsidized prices of the medicines. However, global demand was projected to quickly outpace manufacturing capacity, and Eli Lilly sought a longer-term solution for people needing these medicines.
“After close consultation with global TB experts, Lilly embarked on a novel approach by transferring its manufacturing technology and know-how for capreomycin and cycloserine free of charge to seven manufacturers in these countries, and Shasun was the partner for India," a Thursday note from Eli Lilly said.
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