India-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said it has launched an authorized generic version for Daiichi Sankyo’s cholesterol drug Welchol in the US market.
The drug, whose compound name is colesevelam hydrochloride, had US sales of approximately US$ 520 million for the 12 months ending March 2018, as per IQVIA, the company said.
The launch of the 625mg dosage tablet is the result of a a distribution agreement between Sun Pharma and Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
Under the agreement, the Japanese pharma giant granted the Indian company exclusive rights to distribute the generic tablets in the US for an undisclosed period.
Sun Pharma is expected to earn at least $10 mln from the deal.
Sun Pharma offers formulations in various therapeutic areas, such as cardiology, psychiatry, neurology, gastroenterology and diabetology.
Sun Pharmaceuticals was established by Mr. Dilip Shanghvi in 1983 in Vapi, Gujarat with five products to treat psychiatry ailments. Cardiology products were introduced in 1987 followed by gastroenterology products in 1989.
Today, the company is the largest chronic prescription company in India and a market leader in psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, gastroenterology and nephrology.