Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL) has launched cephalosporin, claimed to be one of the most advanced fourth generation antibiotics, under the brand name Cefepime, on Monday, December 23, 2002.

In a press release, the company said it was second in the world to manufacture cephaslosporin after its innovator Bristo-Meyers Squibb. The Rs 1,050 pharmaceutical company claimed it was a life-saving drug for the patients suffering from serious infections treated by oncologists, physicians and surgeons. The drug is effective against both gram positive and negative pathogens, including the pseudomonas.

While Aurobindo launched the first injectable formulation in the country with the brand name of Cefepime making it available in vials of one gram and 500 milligram through its joint venture formulations company Citadel Aurobindo Biotech Ltd, the drug is also being co-marketed by Alkem Laboratories.

While antibiotics have emerged as a major therapeutic category in the country with around Rs 3,500 crore sales, cephalosporins are growing fast amongst antibiotics at double the pace because of their proven effectiveness against different types of bacteria, according to the press release.

"Today we are a dominant player in the cephalosporin category and offer world's largest product portfolio with 20 different cephalosporins. We had aggressively reverse-engineered and made available the first, second, third and fourth generation sterile and non-sterile cephalosporins," the press release said.