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Cipla, India’s third largest drug maker, and Swiss giant Novartis are in early-stage discussions to jointly market asthma drug Xolair, just months after they ended a legal battle over another respiratory drug.
Xolair (omalizumab) is an injectable prescription medicine used to treat moderate to severe persistent asthma in patients whose symptoms are not controlled by inhaled corticosteroids.
Marketing arrangement and tie-ups between companies are common and often formed to leverage each other’s distribution networks. Cipla, one of the oldest domestic pharmaceutical companies, is strong in India’s Rs 8,500 crore respiratory drug market, with a well-entrenched distribution network that would be hard to replicate.
Novartis has been looking at licensing out its respiratory portfolio, which has lost sheen globally in the past few years. Indian generic drug makers such as Lupin, Cipla, Zydus Cadila and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries are eyeing the respiratory drug portfolio that the Swiss giant is seeking to divest.
