Glenmark partners Cyndea to develop soft-gelatin capsule

Drug major Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today said it has entered into an agreement with Cyndea Pharma for developing generic soft-gelatin capsule formulations of certain pharmaceutical products.

In a BSE filing, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said, "it has entered into a development, license, manufacture and commercial supply agreement with Cyndea Pharma S L, granting exclusive rights to use their technology for developing generic, soft-gelatin capsule formulations of certain pharmaceutical products".

Under this agreement, Glenmark receives exclusive rights to the US and Canada markets for these soft-gelatin formulations in exchange for sharing development costs and profits from future sales.

In addition, the agreement provides for the companies to add further soft-gelatin product candidates for development and commercialisation, as new branded softgelatin capsule - based drug products become available in the marketplace, Glenmark added.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals President, North America, Global API Robert Matsuk said as many as 70 per cent of small molecule pharmaceuticals are difficult for the body to absorb, which leads to challenges in developing effective oral formulations for these medicines.

"The use of soft-gelatin capsules have wide applications to improve absorption and bio-availability of these medicines. Accessing this formulation and manufacturing technology with our strategic partner Cyndea will support Glenmark's continued mission of providing important and cost-effective generic medicines to patients," he added.

Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were trading up 1.84 per cent at Rs 704.35 on BSE.