Venus Remedies launches flagship R&D drug Elores in Oman

India-based Venus Remedies has launched its flagship R&D drug Elores in the $1.4 billion pharmaceutical market in Oman.

Clinically proven to be one of the best drugs against ICU infections caused by multidrug-resistant extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) and metallo beta lactamase (MBL)-producing gram negative bacteria, Elores is effective against bacterial strains resistant to the last-resort carbapenem class of antibiotics.

The antibacterial market in Oman is worth $7.5 million, and Elores is looking to capture 0.5 per cent of this segment ($0.375 million) by year 2025. Oman has alarmingly high rates of ESBL and MBL-producing gram negative infections, as high as 54 per cent. About 63.4 per cent of K. pneumoniae isolates from Oman are multi-drug resistant and produce ESBL against which Elores exhibits remarkable efficacy.

The Oman antibiotics market is primarily dependent on imports from India. Oman had imported antibiotics worth $6.8 million in 2021. The launch of Elores in Oman is expected to open the doors for the entry of the novel antibiotic adjuvant entity in other important Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries as well.

“We expect this product, which has been patented in 46 countries, including the largest pharmaceutical markets of the US and Japan and many European countries, to generate a revenue of around $0.5 million by 2025. With Elores launched in Oman, we are now targeting the $237-million antibiotic market in the GCC region, out of which 54 per cent accounts for ESBL and MBL resistance segment. We are aiming to secure a 0.1 per cent share in this segment, which amounts to $0.23 million,” said Aditi K Chaudhary, President, International Business, Venus Remedies.

While Venus Remedies had outlicensed Elores to Indian drug major Cipla in the domestic market in 2020, the worldwide marketing rights for Elores are still vested in the company, which has launched the product in eight countries so far, including Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Myanmar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Tanzania. It is awaiting marketing authorisation for the drug from another 16 countries.