Intas Biopharmaceuticals Limited, India's leading oncology drug marketing company, is launching Pemetrexed, under the brand name Pemmet, in the Indian market. Pemetrexed is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer caused primarily from smoking and Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by Asbestos exposure. The brand Pemmet is an inclusion to company's strong drug portfolio catering to lung cancer, which comprises of Geffy, Gemibine, Carbopa, Taxocare, and Cytax. Lung cancer, accounts for one third of all cancer deaths, cigarette smoking contributing nearly 85 to 90 per cent of the total cancer deaths.

Announcing the marketing launch of Pemmet, Simon Daniel, chief executive - marketing, Intas Biopharmaceuticals, said, "The introduction of Pemmet is going to strengthen our domestic market share in the oncology segment. With increase prevalence of smoking, lung cancer incidence has also increased in India. It has surpassed the earlier form of cancer that of oropharynx, and now is the commonest malignancy in males. In addition to smoking, occupational exposure have recently been implicated in the causation of lung cancer. In view of our large population, the burden of lung cancer will be enormous in India."

Daniel continued, "With the launch of Pemmet, we intend to add revenues of Rs 6-7 crore in the next one year. Our sales strategy combined with timely product launches catering to specific therapeutic segments has ensured great success for us at the sales front."

Pemetrexed is used with another chemotherapy (anti-cancer) medication to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma (a type of cancer that affects the inside lining of the chest cavity). Pemetrexed is in a class of medications called antifolate antineoplastic agents. It works by blocking the action of a certain substance in the body that may help cancer cells multiply.

As per recent studies and estimates more than 90,000 men and 79,000 women are diagnosed each year with cancer of the lungs and bronchi (the air tubes leading to the lungs). Along with men, the incidence of lung cancer continues to increase also in women. The number of lung cancer deaths among women surpasses those from breast cancer. Female smokers may be more likely to develop lung cancer than male smokers.

Sharing views on safety and efficacy of Pemetrexed drug, Dr Chirag Teli, Medical Advisor, Intas Biopharmaceuticals Limited, said, "Treatment of lung cancer has opened up new vistas of research and that offer potential of cancer therapy with minimal side effects. The majority of patients with NSCLC eventually develop metastatic disease or disease that is not a candidate for surgical interventions and are potential candidates for systemic therapies. Pemetrexed is used in treatment of some form of lung cancer in new as well as refractory or relapsed cases, in which previous chemotherapy drug(s) have failed. Pemetrexed is also used in treatment of mesothelioma, which is cancer of covering of lung known as 'pleura', where it is the only approved chemotherapy drug.

Lung cancer in metastatic stage becomes aggressive, so we need potential therapy to shrink tumour size, stabilize the disease and relieve debilitating symptoms, with minimal toxic effects of the drug. Pemetrexed is the most promising molecule in that aspect. Pemetrexed provides better survival, progression free time & response and has superior tolerability than other cytotoxic drugs used for the same condition. Pemetrexed has also shown quite promising results, when it has been studied in other types of cancer such as Head & Neck cancer, Esophageal cancer, Ovarian cancer and Gastric cancer.

The company is a market leader in the domestic oncology segment wherein it has focussed on marketing novel therapies and drugs that cater to Solid Tumours, Haematology and Supportive Therapies.

Starting with a product basket of a few oncology products in 1999, Intas Biopharmaceuticals can boast of one of the most comprehensive oncology product basket comprising of 26 products in different dosage forms (capsules, injections, tablets and pre-filled syringes).