Venus Strengthens Portfolio in Swiss Market with Marketing Authorisation for Meropenem

• Gets approval from Swiss drug authority Swissmedic through its German subsidiary Venus Pharma GmbH for meropenem 500 mg, 1 g injections

• With plans to launch the product early next year through its partner Swiss Pharma GmbH Zurich, Venus eyes 10% share in Switzerland’s meropenem market

• Being among the first few companies to receive marketing authorisation from Switzerland for meropenem, Venus enjoys a distinct advantage

Venus Remedies Limited, a leading research-based global pharmaceutical company, has achieved yet another landmark by getting marketing authorisation from Switzerland for its generic product meropenem. The company has got this approval from Swiss drug authority Swissmedic through its German subsidiary Venus Pharma GmbH for meropenem 500 mg and 1 g injections.

“With plans to launch this product early next year through our partner Swiss Pharma GmbH Zurich, we will be able to capture 10% share in the meropenem market of Switzerland,” said Venus Remedies Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Chaudhary.

Being among the first few companies to receive marketing authorisation from Switzerland for this drug, Venus enjoys a distinct advantage. “The marketing approval for this critically important antibiotic has once again proved the company's R&D capabilities and its expertise in developing world-class products with regulatory might. It will help us strengthen our portfolio in the Swiss market,” said Chaudhary.

Meropenem is a last-resort drug of the carbapenem class of antibiotics which is used in intensive care units (ICUs) of hospitals. The global annual sale of meropenem, which stood at $1,879 million in 2012, is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent to reach around $2,100 million in 2014-15.

The drug is used in the treatment of severe bacterial infections like pneumonia, broncho-pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis, complicated urinary tract infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections, intra- and post-partum infections, complicated skin and soft tissue infections and acute bacterial meningitis.

Venus Remedies has secured more than 40 marketing authorisations for meropenem throughout the world from countries like the UK, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Italy, among others. With this marketing approval from Switzerland, the company is expecting to generate good revenue in the coming year. Venus is already selling meropenem in various European Union (EU) and non-EU markets, and is in the process of extending its footprint and sales operations in other markets like Spain, Australia and South Africa through strategic tie-ups.

About Venus Remedies:

Venus Remedies, headquartered in Panchkula, Haryana (India), is among the 10 leading fixed-dosage injectable manufacturers in the world. The company has three manufacturing units, in Panchkula, Baddi (both India) and Werne (Germany) and 11 overseas marketing offices, including a presence in the US and Germany.

The manufacturing units are certified for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001 and OHSAS. The company has also been approved by EUROPEAN-GMP, WHO-GMP, Latin American GMP (INVIMA), Ukrainian GMP, Zimbabwe GMP, Uganda GMP, Syrian GMP, Columbian GMP, Kenya GMP, Yemen GMP, Saudi Arabian GMP and Iranian GMP, among others.

Venus Remedies has been ranked 107th in Asia (source: Bio Spectrum Asia) and among the 500 largest pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the world (source: Plimsoll Worldwide Business Intelligence Report).

Venus has won over 102 patents for its innovative research products worldwide. The company has presence in 60 countries and covers more than 75 products.

About Venus Medicine Research Centre:

The Venus Medicine Research Centre (VMRC) located at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, is a fully equipped interdisciplinary drug discovery and development centre, duly approved by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India.

The VMRC is committed to developing therapeutics to meet the challenges of antimicrobial resistance, targetted delivery of anticancer drugs and to provide solution to unmet medical needs in area of pain management. It has come up with many solutions for chronic diseases and has been awarded as the best innovator in hat trick by Indo US Science & Technology forum, Govt of India. It has achieved significant breakthrough in small molecule research for developing products helpful in combating antimicrobial resistance, utilising novel targets and adjuvants which synergise with other antibiotics and minimising potential for resistance for notable resistance barriers like ESBLs, “plasmid encoded carbapenem resistant metalo-beta-lactamases”, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and bacterial biofilms.

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