Sun Pharma to sell AstraZeneca's diabetes drug in India

Homegrown drug major Sun Pharma on Wednesday entered into a partnership with AstraZeneca for distribution of the latter’s diabetes medicine dapagliflozin in India.

As part of the pact, Sun Pharma will sell AstraZeneca’s dapagliflozin, a Type 2 diabetes medicine, under brand name Oxra. AstraZeneca India markets dapagliflozin under the brand name Forxiga.

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Both the companies would promote, market and distribute dapagliflozin in India under their respective brand names, Sun Pharma said in a statement. AstraZeneca will retain the intellectual property rights to dapagliflozin, it added.

Sun Pharma CEO – India Business Abhay Gandhi said: "The addition of this innovative Type 2 diabetes treatment bolsters our diabetes portfolio. We believe that the extended portfolio will further enhance our service capabilities to offer customers and patients innovative medicines at affordable prices."

Dapagliflozin represents a significant advancement in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, AstraZeneca India MD Sanjay Murdeshwar said.

“This agreement supports our strategy of working with a local partner to maximise the value from our innovative medicines in a key emerging market,” he said.

Sun Pharma said it will also have the rights to promote and distribute combination of dapagliflozin with metformin under the brand name 'Oxramet', following regulatory approval. AstraZeneca India is seeking approval from the Drug Controller General of India for the combination of dapagliflozin with metformin.

Metformin is an oral medicine used to treat people with Type 2 diabetes. The overall Indian anti-diabetes market is more than Rs  8,400 crore and is growing at about 21 per cent annually, Sun Pharma said.

This segment is highly fragmented, having over 50 active players. However, the top five players, which includes Sun Pharma cumulatively accounts for 50 per cent of this market. In India, diabetes is estimated to affect roughly 69.2 million people and more than 415 million people worldwide. By 2040, it is expected to increase up to 642 million and Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes.

WHAT’S THE DEAL

• As part of the pact, Sun Pharma will sell AstraZeneca's dapagliflozin, a Type 2 diabetes medicine, under brand name Oxra
   
• AstraZeneca will retain the intellectual property rights to dapagliflozin