Cipla acquires anti-infective drug Elores from Venus Remedies

Elores is used to treat life threatening infections

Mumbai based Cipla Limited on Thursday said that it has acquired a patented anti-infective product named Elores from research based firm Venus Remedies Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The product is used for the treatment of life threatening infections caused by certain bateria.

Cipla feels that the acquisition would help to strengthen its presence in the branded Indian critical care space. The company's market share in the anti-infective space has shrunk marginally in the last few years - from 23.4 per cent as on August 2017 to 21 per cent as on this year, as per AIOCD AWACS data.

Elores is a novel combination which is used as an antibiotic resistance breaker (ARB). It basically helps to preserve the efficacy of an antibiotic using appropriate ARBs. It was launched across tertiary care hospitals in the country in 2013 after the Drug Controller General of India (DCG) approved it.

Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) has emerged as a critical threat to public health. At the present rate, it is estimated that as many as 10 million individuals worldwide could die annually from complications related to AMR. India carries one of the largest burdens of drug-resistant pathogens worldwide.

Umang Vohra, Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla, said, "Cipla has consistently been at the forefront of promoting rational and judicious use of antibiotics, and has been a leading industry voice in the fight against AMR.  We recently acquired Zemdri, and with the acquisition of Elores, we have added to our offering of new generation antibiotics."

In India, Cipla has a long history of antibiotic development from ampicillin in the 1970s to quinolones in the 1990s. More recently, Cipla introduced the extremely effective antibiotic colistin in India. Today, Cipla is the market leader in the anti-infectives segment in India, and has a large portfolio of oral and injectable anti-microbial brands that serve over 20 million patients every year.

Saransh Chaudhary, CEO, Venus Medicine Research Centre, said: “VRL has been leading the research on novel anti-infectives in India. We’ve always viewed AMR as a huge public health crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and at all levels of the healthcare setup. Elores was our response to the problem and it has been very satisfying to see the difference that it has made in the lives of patients.”