Lupin, Sanofi-Aventis Philippines in strategic agreement

Mumbai-based pharma firm Lupin has entered into an strategic agreement with Sanofi-Aventis for marketing and distributing in the Philippines Sanofi's global brands Solian (amisulpride) and stilnox (zolpidem emitartrate), used for treating central nervous system disorders.

The agreement has been signed between Lupin's Philippines unit, Multicare Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Aventis Philippines Inc, a part of the Sanofi Group, Lupin said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The annual sales revenues of these brands stand at 138 million (PHP) philippine peso ($3.3 million), Lupin said in a statement on Friday.

Vinod Dhawan, president, Business Development, Lupin Limited said, "Since the brands are in-market, commercial products, our sales and marketing efforts will commence immediately and we are optimistic of it contributing positively to our topline in the coming years.''

The agreement will enable Sanofi-Aventis to capitalise on Multicare's CNS marketing reach and expertise while Multicare will focus on bringing these brands into a higher growth path.

Solian is the 3rd largest selling atypical anti-psychotic agent in the Philippines. It is indicated for acute and chronic schizophrenia characterised by both negative and positive symptoms. Stilnox is the second-largest selling drug for insomnia and sleep disorders in the country.

Multicare has four key strategic business units focused on Women's Health, Paediatrics, Respiratory, GI, Diabetes Care & CNS and is amongst the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines market and recorded sales of PHP 480 million

Sanofi-Aventis is the 7th largest pharmaceutical company in the Philippines with over 4billion philippine peso sales turnover.