Natco Pharma LTd, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, has announced the launching of an anti-cancer drug under the brand name Veenat (Imatinib 100mg capsules). With the launch, the company has not only entered the cancer segment but also joined a few companies in the world who manufacture both the bulk active pharmaceutical ingredient and the finished dosage formulation of Imatinib Mesylate, in its generic form. This target specific signal transduction inhibitor is a life-saving drug for people suffering from Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). The drug is claimed to be effective in treating CML with quick response and improved survival chances with least side-effects.

According to a press release, the drug which was developed with in-house process technology by NATCO, on usage, spares the normal cells unlike the conventional therapies and is tailor-made to select the genetic target. NATCO has already filed its application for the issue of a patent of the process.

The drug can be used in blast crisis, in accelerate phase and in chronic phase of the disease. The Magic Bull, as it is called, is several times superior to conventional therapy, and is approved by the US FDA for use as first line treatment in CML.

The press statement said studies had established that the drug would generate an overall complete hematologic response of 94 per cent in chronic phase, 80 per cent response in accelerate phase and 55 per cent in blast crisis. The overall cytogenetic response in these respective phases was 71, 45 and 12 per cent.

According to Natco's Chairman and Managing Director V C Nannapaneni, the drug would be competing against Novartis' Gleevec. The drug would be priced at $3, while Gleevec was priced at $24 per capsule

Natco had posted a net profit of Rs 4.02 crore on a total income of Rs 32.73 crore in Q3 of 2002-03 against a profit of Rs 3.74 crore on an income of Rs 24.87 crore in the same period last year.