Zydus Lifesciences Ltd.

Zydus and Gilead Sciences have signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement which will allow the generic manufacture of sofosbuvir and the investigational single tablet regimen of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir for distribution in 90 developing countries, including India. Under the licensing agreement, Zydus will receive a complete technology transfer of the Gilead manufacturing process to enabling production to be scaled up as quickly as possible.

Zydus will set its own prices for the generic product, paying a royalty on sales to Gilead to support product registrations, medical education and training, safety monitoring and other business essential activities. The licences also permit the manufacture of sofosbuvir or ledipasvir in combination with other chronic hepatitis C medicines. There are nearly 10 million patients suffering from Hepatitis C in India. The problem is further compounded by the fact that patients remain undiagnosed till the late stage and can ill afford the treatment.

Zydus Cadila is an innovative, global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of healthcare therapies. It is the only Indian pharma company to launch its own patented NCE - Lipaglyn, the world’s first drug to be approved for the treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia.