Sun Pharma enters into agreement with Rockwell Medical

Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited has announced that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries has entered into an exclusive licensing and supply agreement with Rockwell Medical Inc, to commercialise Rockwell's Triferic, a proprietary iron replacement and haemoglobin maintenance drug, for treating anaemia in hemodialysis patients in India.

As per the terms of the agreement, Sun Pharma will be the exclusive development and commercialisation partner for Triferic during the term of the agreement, subject to its approval in India. In consideration for the license, Rockwell will be eligible for upfront and milestone payments as well as royalty on net sales. The financial terms of the agreement are confidential.

According to Global Burden of Disease Study 2017, chronic kidney disease was the tenth leading cause of mortality in India, having risen from fourteenth rank in 2007. In India, there are approximately 130,000 patients receiving hemodialysis, and the number is increasing by about 232 per million populations.

Triferic is the only USFDA-approved therapy in US, indicated to replace iron and maintain haemoglobin in hemodialysis patients via dialysate during each dialysis treatment.

Rockwell Medical is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming anaemia management in a wide variety of therapeutic areas and across the globe, improving the lives of very sick patients. The company’s initial focus is the treatment of anemia in End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

On Tuesday, the stock of Sun Pharma had closed at Rs 445.80. On Wednesday, it opened at Rs 447.05 and touched Rs 448 during the early morning session.