Ranbaxy to launch Daiichi's hypertension drug in India

Ranbaxy will launch Daiichi Sankyo's anit-hypertensive drug Olvance (Olmesartan Medoxomil), through a licensing agreement between the two companies authorising Ranbaxy to promote and market the drug in India, the companies said in a statement.

''Olvance is an effective, fast acting and well tolerated antihypertensive agent that can be administered, once daily. The clinical trials of Olmesartan have shown it to be significantly more effective at reducing blood pressure, than, several other agents,'' the release said.

''The launch of Olvance is a historic moment in the collaboration between Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo. This marks the beginning of a productive engagement that will harness the respective strengths of Daiichi Sankyo and Ranbaxy to establish a much stronger platform for Ranbaxy in India,'' Malvinder Mohan Singh, chairman, CEO and managing director, Ranbaxy, said.  

''We are delighted with the introduction of Olvance in the Indian market by Ranbaxy, signifying our serious commitment to India. Olmesartan Medoxomil is a superior antihypertensive medicine that will offer an excellent therapy option to the doctors and patients in India. This marks our intent to scale up our innovative product introductions, in India, through Ranbaxy,'' Takashi Shoda, president and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, said.

Ranbaxy said it will play a pivotal role in creating awareness, understanding and acceptance of the new antihypertensive amongst the medical fraternity and other target audiences in India.

Ranbaxy has a significant presence in the cardiovascular disease segment and is a pioneer and leader in Statins the cholesterol reducing agents. Introduction of Olvance will further strengthen Ranbaxy's presence in the antihypertensive segment, the release noted.
 
Olmesartan Medoxomil belongs to the family of Angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) class of anti-hypertensives and is a selective AT1 subtype angiotensin II receptor antagonist. It is available worldwide in more than 50 countries.

Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd was established in 2005 through the merger of two leading Japanese pharmaceutical companies. Daiichi Sankyo focuses on research and development of drugs and treatments for thrombotic disorders, malignant neoplasm, diabetes mellitus, and autoimmune disorders as also on hypertension, hyperlipidemia or atherosclerosis and bacterial infections.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, India's largest pharmaceutical company, is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of generic medicines. The company has customers in over 125 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 49 countries and manufacturing operations in 11 countries.