Cipla, the fifth largest pharma company in India with consolidated net sales of Rs.6,800 crore plus, has launched the first biosimilar of Etanercept in India; under the brand name ‘ETACEPT’ for the treatment of rheumatic disorders. Formed through a partnership alliance, ETACEPT is manufactured by a China-based company Shanghai CP Guojian Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which will be marketed by Cipla in India.

The introduction of Etacept now signals Cipla’s entry into the Biologic segment offering an option to the patients suffering from rheumatic disorders at a lower cost. Etacept is available as a lyophilized powder to be given by subcutaneous injection. It is available with stockists across the country at Rs.6,150 and the recommended dose for adults is 25mg twice weekly by subcutaneous injection.

Commenting on the launch of Etacept, Dr Jaideep Gogtay, medical director, said, “The higher cost of biologics has been a major hindrance, limiting its affordability and accessibility to millions of patients. We believe that introducing Etacept at a lower cost (30 per cent lesser as compared to the innovator) will enable access of this drug to a greater number of patients in India. This can be enhanced further if we consider the results of a recent study that showed in patients who were successfully treated with Etanercept for six months, a 50 per cent reduced dose worked just as well as continuing the current dose.”

Currently there are DMARDs (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs) which are considered to be the first line of treatment for rheumatic disorders. However, approximately 40 per cent of the patients are not controlled on these drugs. In such cases, biologics like Etanercept play a significant role in controlling the disease activity and make a positive difference in the lives of these patients.

ETACEPT contains Etanercept, a biologic produced by recombinant DNA technology. Etacept (Etanercept) binds to TNF-a, a cytokine that plays a very important role in the inflammation and joint damage in rheumatic disorders. It helps in modifying the course of the disease and prevents further damage to the joints. Etacept (Etanercept) is approved in the management of rheumatic disorders like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, Juvenile Idiopathic Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis.

Since its launch in 2006 in China by Shanghai CP Guojian Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., over 50,000 patients have been treated with Etanercept. Clinical efficacy and the safety of the drug have also been well established in Indian patients.

Over the 75 years, Cipla has established itself as a leader in many disease areas such as respiratory, cardiology, urology and anti-infectives including HIV/AIDS and of late has been aggressively developing the product pipeline in emerging therapies like oncology, rheumatology, pulmonary arterial hypertension, hepatology, etc.