Sun Pharma, Bayer partner for diabetes-linked kidney disease medicine

Diabetes is an epidemic in India, with nearly 100 million Indians suffering from it. Diabetes has also been identified as the leading cause of chronic kidney disease in India

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Bayer, on Wednesday, announced their partnership to market and distribute a second brand of Finerenone – a medicine meant to treat chronic kidney disease associated with Type-2 diabetes, in India.

Sun Pharma, in a regulatory filing, said, "Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer has granted the non-exclusive rights to Sun Pharma to market and distribute a second brand of Finerenone under the brand name 'Lyvelsa'."

Notably, Finerenone was first launched by Bayer in 2022 under the brand name 'Kerendia'.

Speaking on the aim of the collaboration, Shweta Rai, Bayer's business head in South Asia said, "...we are advancing Bayer's commitment of making healthcare accessible to as many patients as possible…"

Meanwhile, Kirti Ganorkar, Sun Pharma's India business CEO, remarked, "We are happy to collaborate with Bayer to provide patients access to a new treatment which slows down the progression of chronic kidney disease and reduces the risk of kidney failure associated with Type-2 diabetes..."

100 million diabetes patients in India

Diabetes - a disease caused by high blood sugar - is an epidemic in India, with nearly 100 million Indians suffering from it. Diabetes has also been identified as the leading cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease in India. According to the Indian Chronic Kidney Disease (ICKD) study, over 40 per cent of all patients with diabetes will develop chronic kidney disease .

Finerenone, endorsed by the US FDA in July 2021, was authorised by the European Commission in February 2022. The drug received approval from Indian authorities in April 2022 based on clinical trial findings, the regulatory filing further read.