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BDR Pharmaceutical has launched a higher-strength version of prostate cancer drug Enzalutamide in India, a move that will reduce the pill burden for patients.
The company had received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture a 40-mg Enzalutamide in 2017 to treat men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) under the brand name BDENZA.
“The 80 mg version is an attempt to reduce the pill burden (from 4 capsules a day to 2 a day) that has been a demand from doctors and patients to be used for the treatment of mCRPC. Reducing the pill burden is expected to increase the patient compliance,” it said.
The drug is priced at ₹24,480 for a pack with four strips and ₹6,120 for a strip (14 capsules). This is the first time an Indian generic company is launching an 80 mg in India, the company said.
The innovator brand Xtandi (40 mg) from Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc is pegged at over ₹3.30 lakh for 112 capsules, according to industry data. The same strength of the cancer medicine from BDR Pharma costs ₹72,000 for 112 capsules. The innovator does not sell an 80 mg version in India, according to a person familiar with the details.
Prostate cancer usually affects men over 65 years. And its symptoms include a frequent urge to urinate, painful urination, repeated urinary tract infections (UTI) and occasionally blood in the urine.
BDR Pharma has been in the news recently as they also make medicines used in Covid-19 treatment, including Remdesivir and Favipiravir.
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