Venus Remedies has received its first US patent from US PTO for its novel research product, Vancoplus. With this patent grant, which is valid up to December 2027, the company is all set to tap the US market by launching the product. Earlier, Vancoplus has already been granted the patents from countries like South Africa, New Zealand and Ukraine.

Commenting on this, Dr Manu Chaudhary, joint managing director and director research, Venus Remedies said, “Vancoplus is most effective and safe option available to curb the notorious MRSA strain. The Vancoplus therapy is not only cost effective but it also reduces treatment time and is a boon for the medical field.” Besides this, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in US has also estimated that the financial burden of anti-microbial resistance (including direct and indirect costs) may be as high as $ 30 billion per year and as per a report, majority of the people in US dies from hospital acquired staph infection (MRSA) than AIDS. Discussing further on the achievement, Dr Chaudhary added, “Approximately 60 per cent of patients infected with S aureus in ICUs of US hospitals infected from MRSA. In such a situation, grant of patent from US for Vancoplus is one of the great achievements for the company and for mankind.”

Vancoplus, a brand of Ceftriaxone and Vancomycin along with a chemical vector, used in CVMC technology, is the only remedy after vaccination to treat MRSA and multi drug resistant microbes which causes Meningitis, Pneumonia, Typhoid, Septicemia, Urinary Tract Infection, Skin and Skin infections and Staphylococcal Endocarditis. The drug restricts the production of toxin by MRSA pathogens and also reduces the treatment time, cost and adverse effects.

Launched in the various markets across the globe, Vancoplus has been developed by following stringent international guidelines defined for developing a new drug. The product has undergone various pre-clinical studies which includes acute toxicity, sub acute toxicity, intravenous, para venous toxicities as per OECD guidelines; pharmacokinetic studies, efficacy studies established through a series of microbiological studies carried out as per NCCLS guidelines. Along with this, the company has also done comparative and randomised phase III multi-centric studies on 200 patients as per GCP guidelines.

Vancoplus took more than seven years after its development to receive the US patent where it is  intended to be launched in early 2014 through 505 (B) (2) route.

The total market size of MRSA in the world accounts for $ 9 billion. At present it is growing with CAGR of 4.8 per cent, which is estimated to reach to 12.4 per cent by 2017. The estimated medical cost due to MRSA in USA was $ 5 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach $ 9 billion in next 5 years. With Vancoplus ,Venus expects to grab a fair share of this market within 3 years of its launch.

Currently worth $ 4 million, Vancoplus is available in few emerging markets and is under registration in many countries. The product has already been used by more than 25,000 patients and has shown tremendous results. The company is now eyeing patents for Vancoplus from countries like Canada, Europe, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and Japan. It also intends to out-license Vancoplus across patent protected regions to major pharmaceutical players.