Cadila launches lung cancer drug at Rs 40,000 per course

Homegrown drug maker Cadila Pharmaceuticals on Thursday launched a new lung cancer drug, Mycidac-C, priced at Rs 40,000 for a 10-course injection, about a tenth of the cost of those made by multinational competitors.

The company, which spent 15 years in developing the drug for treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), is looking to sell the drug in 50 countries in Africa and South East Asia apart from India, where it will start selling from December this year.

"The drug is affordable and is many times cheaper than what our competitors are offering. We have invested heavily and took thousands of scientific hours and millions of experiment to develop the drug," Cadila Pharmaceuticals chairman and managing director Rajiv I Modi told reporters here.

Giving a comparison on the affordability of Mycidac-C, he said Roche's Avastin, which is also used for similar treatment, costs Rs 37,000 for a single vial, while the new drug from Cadila will cost Rs 40,000 for a full course of 10 injections required during chemotherapy.

However, Mr Modi refused to disclose the amount invested by the company in developing the drug.

The new drug has been licensed and approved by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and would be launched in India in the first week of December, he said.

When asked if the company planned to launch the drug in other global markets, he said the company plans to market Mycidac-C in 50 countries of Africa and South East Asia. However, for the developed market as USA, UK, Japan etc, the company is looking for a partnership.

 "Outside India, it would take some times as process of obtaining licence from each different country would be started and it may take time of a year and more," Mr Modi said.

He further added that during the development, the entire trail was based on approved protocol of US drug regulator Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

"I hope that they would except the drug as the entire development was done based on their (USFDA) protocol," he said.

In Africa and South East Asia, where Cadila has significant presence, Cadila would sell the drug on its own.

"But for the big markets as US, UK, France and Japan, we are looking for a partnership as we do not have the required reach," Mr Modi added.

The drug would be manufactured at Cadila's Dholka facility near Ahmadabad, in Gujarat.