Cipla announces the acquisition of a novel and patented anti-infective product, Elores, from Venus Remedies Limited (“VRL”) for the Indian market to further strengthen its presence in the branded Indian critical care space and as a part of its agenda to contribute to the fight against Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR).

Elores is a novel combination of Ceftriaxone (a third generation beta-lactam cephalosporin),Sulbactam (a beta-lactamase inhibitor) and Disodium EDTA (an Antibiotic Resistance Breaker)indicated for the treatment of life threatening infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. It preserves the efficacy of the antibiotic using appropriate Antibiotic Resistance Breakers (ARBs). The product was launched in India across select tertiary care hospitals in the country in 2013 after approval from the Drug Controller General of India.

AMR has emerged as a critical threat to public health. At the present rate, it is estimated that as many as 10 million individuals worldwide could die annually from complications related to AMR. India carries one of the largest burdens of drug-resistant pathogens worldwide. In India, Cipla has a long history of antibiotic development from ampicillin in the 1970s to quinolones in the 1990s. More recently, Cipla introduced the extremely effective antibiotic colistin in India. Today, Cipla is the market leader in the anti-infectives segment in India, and has a large portfolio of oral and injectable anti-microbial brands that serve over 20 million patients every year. Elores will strengthen Cipla’s play in branded anti-infectives. With the view to partner with patients and physicians in infection management, Cipla recently launched the ‘Save Susceptibility’ campaign to build awareness, enable better diagnosis and enable appropriate action and use of anti-microbials.

Umang Vohra, Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla, said:  “Cipla has consistently been at the forefront of promoting rational and judicious use of antibiotics, and has been a leading industry voice in the fight against AMR. Elores underscores our commitment to anti-microbial stewardship and is a significant addition to our branded portfolio of anti-infectives in India. We recently acquired ZEMDRITM, and with the acquisition of Elores, we have added to our offering of new generation antibiotics. In keeping with our purpose of Caring for Life, Elores will improve patient access to innovative quality medicines and help patients battle life-threatening resistance at critical junctures.”

Saransh Chaudhary, CEO, Venus Medicine Research Centre, said: “VRL has been leading the research on novel anti-infectives in India. We’ve always viewed anti-microbial resistance (AMR) as a huge public health crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and at all levels of the healthcare setup. Elores was our response to the problem and it has been very satisfying to see the difference that it has made in the lives of patients. I'm positive that Cipla will expand the reach of Elores to many more patients in India while ensuring a similar commitment to anti-microbial stewardship. AMR continues to be the core focus for us going forward and we hope that our consistent efforts in this space will lead to better outcomes for patients dealing with life-threatening infections.”