Healthcare major Zydus Cadila has entered into a non-exclusive, royalty-free agreement with Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for the generic production of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir, a novel direct-acting antiviral (DAA), that is proven to help cure multiple genotypes of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). 

The agreement sub-licenses Zydus to produce and sell daclatasvir in 112 low and middle-income countries, the company said here. 

The MPP licence allows generic manufacturers to develop fixed-dose combinations that offer the potential to treat all of the six major genotypes of HCV. According to company estimates, between 130 and 150 million people worldwide have HCV. The vast majority of the affected live in low and middle-income countries.

Daclatasvir, in combination with other DAAs produces high cure rates after 12 weeks of treatment, with recent Phase III studies demonstrating that the regimen could cure up to 100 per cent of HCV patients depending on genotype and stage of liver disease.

Pankaj R Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Zydus Group, said, "We are happy to work together with The Medicines Patent Pool and Bristol-Myers Squibb to serve the cause of healthcare by providing access to new and affordable therapies to economically disadvantaged communities across the developing countries."

Zydus Heptiza, a specialty division of the group, has a complete basket of brands for hepatitis B & C with a reach of nearly 80 per cent of the hepatologists and gastroenterologists across India, the company said. 

The addition of daclatasvir shall strengthen this critical care portfolio which offers the advantages of quality, globally accessed, preferred treatment options at affordable prices, it said.

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