Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has entered into an exclusive patent license agreement with H. Lundbeck, a Danish pharmaceutical company, to market and distribute its own version of vortioxetine in India under the brand name Vortidiftm.
“The territory of the license agreement will only cover India,” Sun Pharma said in a statement.
Vortioxetine is a novel multimodal antidepressant approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. The product is approved in more than 80 countries including the US, EU, Canada and Australia.
Kirti Ganorkar, CEO, India Business, Sun Pharma said, “Sun Pharma is a leader in neuropsychiatric therapy in India and we are always striving to bring innovative medicines to market that fill a need gap.”
“MDD is a serious and complicated disease and VortidifTM will serve as an important new treatment option for patients in India,” he said.
MDD is a leading cause of disability, affecting approximately 246 million people worldwide and 35 million people in India, according to the company.
“MDD is characterized by marked mood swings coupled with marked psychological and autonomic changes, including sleep disorders, impaired appetite, subjective fatigue, loss of motivation and drive, pensive feelings of guilt and despair, problems maintaining mental focus, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. ‘ it added.
