Hyderabad India; April 6, 2024 – Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and Bayer announced that both companies have entered into a partnership to market and distribute a second brand of Vericiguat in India. Under the terms of this agreement, Bayer has granted non-exclusive rights to Dr. Reddy’s under the brand name Gantra®. Vericiguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, in India, is indicated, along with guideline-based medical therapy, in adults with symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (less than 45%), following a recent event of worsening heart failure which required hospitalization or outpatient intravenous (IV) diuretics 6 . Vericiguat works on a pathway not currently targeted by existing heart failure treatments and can reduce the combined risk of
cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization in such patient 7 , 8 . India has between 8-10 million people with heart failure, making it one of the largest populations with this condition 9 .
Shweta Rai, Managing Director, Bayer Zydus Pharma and Country Division Head (CDH) for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Business in South Asia said, “Despite therapy, chronic heart failure patients can experience disease progression that disrupts their lives and leads to worsening heart failure events. Vericiguat can help slow down disease progression, reduce hospital admissions and improve their chances of survival 10 , 11 . The introduction of a second brand of vericiguat in India, through