“Cipla and Novartis are in talks to co-market the anti-asthmatic drug Xolair in India,” said a source to leading news sources. “Final details and financial terms are being discussed. An announcement is likely in a month after the legal formalities get done.”
The news comes close on the heels of the recently resolved legal battle over a respiratory drug between the two companies. Cipla lost its battle with Novartis in March which it had endured since 2014, when the Delhi High Court stayed the company’s request to sell copies of Novartis respiratory brand Onbrez (indacaterol).
Xolair (omalizumab) is an injectable prescription drug used to treat moderate to severe persistent asthma in patients whose symptoms are not controlled by inhaled corticosteroids.
Marketing arrangement and tie-ups between the Indian drug maker and the Swiss giant are common and often formed to leverage each other’s distribution networks.
Cipla, one of the oldest domestic pharmaceutical companies, is strong in India’s Rs 8,500 crore respiratory drug market, with a well-entrenched distribution network that would be hard to replicate.
