Zydus Lifesciences Ltd., a global innovation driven healthcare company announced that it has launched Relugolix under the brand name, Rexigo™. This is the first and only oral once-a-day therapy for testosterone suppression in patients with advanced prostate cancer in India. Though Relugolix was available in developed countries since the last four years, patients in India did not have access to it. With this launch, Zydus brings both access to a critical therapy and also makes it affordable at a cost of Rs. 6995 per month which is 50% less than the currently available injectable options.
The drug will be manufactured at the group’s manufacturing premises. This marks a big leap forward in the management of prostate cancer as patients and doctors will have a new option which can offer convenience, safety and rapid action.
Prostate cancer is one of the leading cancers in men and more than 43000 cases were reported in India in 2022 as per the National Cancer Registry Program of India. Prostate cancer growth is majorly driven by the male hormone, testosterone, a member of ‘Androgens’. So, one of the key strategies of prostate cancer management is ‘Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT)’ with a goal of suppressing testosterone levels. It can be achieved by surgery or by using drugs. The duration of ADT depends on the disease status. The drugs currently used for treatment are all injectables with different routes of administration (in muscle or under the skin) and could be done only under the supervision of a care giver.
Rexigo™ alleviates this need. With this, the treatment for prostate cancer in India can now be made completely oral, thus helping patients lead a better quality of life.
Relugolix, became the first and only oral option of ADT drugs known as gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues with its launch globally in 2020. It shows rapid testosterone suppression which can be sustained throughout the treatment period. It also has better safety profile for heart related adverse events. Testosterone recovery is faster once Relugolix is stopped, so it is beneficial to patients needing suppression only for a fixed duration as a part of their treatment plan.
Zydus is one of the leading players in the Oncology segment in India and has been at the forefront, launching several First-in-India biosimilars and therapies. With a highly specialized and patient centric approach, the company has been able to bring access and affordability in cancer therapies. Six of the eight oncology pillar brands are leaders in their respective categories.
