Bayer and Dr Reddy's Ink Pact To Promote Heart Failure Drug in India

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, a leading multinational pharmaceutical company, has forayed into an alliance with Bayer to promote and distribute the heart failure drug Vericiguat brand throughout India. 

“Under the terms of this agreement, Bayer has granted non-exclusive rights to Dr. Reddy’s under the brand name Gantra. Vericiguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, in India, is indicated, along with guideline-based medical therapy, in adults with symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (less than 45%), following a recent event of worsening heart failure which required hospitalization or outpatient intravenous (IV) diuretics,” the company said in a statement.

According to the statement, vericiguat can lower a patient's combined risk of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization since it acts on a channel that is not currently targeted by heart failure medications. -India is home to one of the highest numbers of heart failure sufferers, with 8–10 million individuals suffering from the disease.

“Despite therapy, chronic heart failure patients can experience disease progression that disrupts their lives and leads to worsening heart failure events. Vericiguat can help slow down disease progression, reduce hospital admissions and improve their chances of survival. The introduction of a second brand of vericiguat in India, through our partnership with Dr. Reddy’s is a reaffirmation of our commitment to making innovative healthcare solutions accessible to as many patients as possible. We are excited about the possibilities this partnership with Dr. Reddy’s presents in improving health outcomes for patients with chronic HF, following a recent event of worsening heart failure,” Shweta Rai, Managing Director, Bayer Zydus Pharma and Country Division Head (CDH) for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Business in South Asia said in a statement.