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Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical division Janssen has launched Invokana or canagliflozin, used to treat Type-II diabetes, in India.
Taken orally once a day, Invokana belongs to a new class of medication (sodium glucose (sugar) co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors) whose action is different from other Type-II diabetes medications, and its ancillary benefits include weight loss, said Sanjiv Navangul, Managing Director, Janssen India.
The patent-protected drug is pegged at an India-centric price of ₹51 per dose, which is comparative to other drugs in the category, Navangul told BusinessLine . The India price is less than quarter its price in other developed markets, he added. Outlining another benefit of the drug, he said, it can be used as a mono therapy or in combination with another drug and can be introduced at any stage in the treatment of diabetes.
India has an estimated 67 million people suffering from diabetes making it the second largest diabetes population in the world, behind China.
India has played a role in the development of the drug, he said, with about 1,000 people participating in the trial of the drug that involved about 11,000 people.
Janssen expects to bring in more medicines targeting cancer, mental health, etc, despite the prevailing anxiety among multinational companies over the enforcement of patent protection in India, he said. There is a need to get innovative products to patients, where it is needed, and the company would do whatever it takes to protect its patent, Navangul added.
Vikram Singh, Janssen India’s Vice-President (Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance), said the drug was different because it explored the kidney as a pathway.
“Invokana and other SGLT2 inhibitors work differently from other classes of Type-II diabetes treatments by blocking the re-absorption of glucose in the kidneys. The result is that more glucose is excreted in the urine thereby reducing levels of blood glucose — a major goal of diabetes treatment,” the company said.
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