Venus Remedies bags US patent for painkiller injection

Venus Remedies Ltd, a research oriented global pharmaceutical company today said it has bagged a patent from US Patent Office for Achnil, a once-a-day painkiller injection developed by Venus Medicine Research Centre (VMRC), the R&D wing of Venus Remedies.
The patent for Achnil will remain in force till 2032.
"The formulation will be commercialised in the US market through technology transfer/outlicensing of exclusive marketing rights route, and we are open to such deals," Venus Remedies Chief Financial Officer Dheeraj Aggarwal said in a statement.
Containing aceclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), Achnil is a pioneering product developed by the VMRC in its efforts to develop a controlled release formulation based on the novel drug delivery system.

While the US represents the largest market for pain management worldwide, NSAIDs account for 28 per cent of the global painkiller market, the size of which was USD 10.22 billion in 2013.
The share of injectables in this market is 15 per cent, making it a market worth USD 1.5 billion. Expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1 per cent, this potential market for Achnil will be worth USD 1.75 billion by 2018, the release said.
It is estimated that 215 million people in the US aged 20 years and above either suffer from pain in one or more body parts, including joints, lower back, neck and face/jaw, or undergo dental pain and headaches/migraines. About 70 million surgical procedures are performed annually in the US and 80 per cent of these patients experience post-surgical pain, of which cases of severe pain constitute 11-20 per cent.

The company said that Achnil is the safest option to address such pains. The aceclofenac-based formulation can relieve acute as well as chronic pain and inflammation arising from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lower back pain, ankylosing spondylitis, and dental, post-traumatic pain, gynaecological and cancer-related pains, it said.