Roche Pharma & Cipla Collaboration
Drug firm Roche Pharma India, for further improving access to its key oncology medicines in India, said it has expanded its partnership with domestic pharma major Cipla.
Roche Pharma India said in a statement that the company has signed a “distribution agreement with Cipla to expand the scope of the partnership to include, marketing and distribution of its trademark oncology drugs in India – rituximab (Ristova), bevacizumab (Avastin) and trastuzumab (Herclon).
For promotion and distribution of tocilizumab (Actemra) and other products, in February 2018, the two companies had previously entered into a similar agreement.
V Simpson Emmanuel, Roche Products (India) general manager said, “We have been working with Cipla as a partner for some of our products and through this new agreement, we hope to extend the same support to patients in India.”
He added that to ensure better outcomes for patients, the company will keep on collaborating with the relevant stakeholders in the Indian healthcare system and this deal will ensure that the company’s focus on providing Roche innovations in India remains steadfast in this portfolio.
Nikhil Chopra, Cipla India Business Executive vice-president, and CEO said, “Through an enhanced portfolio of offerings, this agreement represents Cipla’s unwavering commitment to addressing the unmet needs of cancer patients
.”In another development, to improve access to nephrology medicines in India, Roche Pharma India said that it has partnered with Entero Healthcare Solutions. Entero, under this agreement, will be responsible for the promotion, marketing, and distribution of Roche Pharma’s key nephrology drugs in India such as methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (Mircera), epoetin beta (NeoRecormon), and mycophenolate mofetil (Cellcept), valganciclovir (Valcyte).
Emmanuel said, “Through a valued partnership like this, we need to differentiate between our existing products that can reach the patients at a faster pace while working towards creating and enhancing the healthcare ecosystem in India and in next few years, we can focus on bringing the newer innovative drugs into India.”
Prabhat Agrawal, co-founder, and CEO of Entero Healthcare Solutions said, “We are delighted to enter this unique collaboration with Roche to be able to serve patient needs in the area of chronic kidney disease and organ transplant.”
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Roche Pharma & Cipla Collaboration
