Alkem Laboratories on December 31 announced that it is acquiring anti-nausea drug Marinol from US drug maker AbbVie for $10 million.
Marinol, generically called as Dronabinol, is a man-made or synthetic form of marijuana (cannabis).
Marionol capsules are used to treat the loss of appetite (anorexia) in AIDS patients and to treat nausea and vomiting in patients receiving chemotherapy.
"Assets as specified in the agreement in relation to the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) Dronabinol which include domain names and trademarks related to "MARINOL", New Drug Application registration with USFDA for Marinol, logos, patents designs, know how, technical and manufacturing, inventory manufacturing equipment and such items," Alkem said in a statement to the exchanges.
Marinol is facing competition from generic equivalents of Akorn, Lannett, Insys and Svc Pharma and the prices of Dronabinol have dropped by over 60 percent.
