Sun looks for partner in Japan

India’s largest pharmaceutical firm, Sun Pharmaceutical, is scouting for a partner to market 14 brands it acquired from Novartis in Japan.

“We are looking for a partner to market these brands there. The decision regarding this would be taken in the near future,” said Kirti Ganorkar, senior vice-president (global business development).

In April, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, acquired 14 established prescription brands from Novartis AG and Novartis Pharma AG in Japan, for $293 million. The acquired brands will be marketed by a local marketing partner under the Sun label. The local marketing partner will also be responsible for distribution of the brands.
 

“We have bought 14 brands from Novartis which are sold in Japanese market. Now, the same brands would be promoted by Sun to the Japanese doctors. This is how Sun would be known in that market,” Ganorkar added.

Meanwhile, the firm on Wednesday signed an deal with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to develop a novel botanical drug for treatment of dengue.

“Through this agreement, Sun Pharma commits development of Cissampelos pariera (Cipa), a botanical drug in collaboration with ICGEB,” the company said. The company wants to launch this drug as a chemical entity. Therefore, it would take up this issue with regulators and then start with various stages of trials.

Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment available for dengue in India. The company expects to launch this drug in India within four years. “The drug development is at pre-clinical stage. First market, we would target is India. After that, we would go to United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to launch it there and then globally,” Ganorkar said.