Company Watch

MSD India launches new anti-fungal drug

Our News Bureau - Mumbai

Merck Sharp and Dohme Pharmaceuticals (MSD) India launched their latest anti-fungal drug, Cancidas IV (caspofugin acetate), in the Indian pharmaceutical market. Cancidas IV is the first to be approved in a new class of anti-fungals. "Cancidas has set a new gold standard in the anti-fungal drugs domain with beaming global sales and revenue figures, which are indicative of the acceptance it has achieved world over," said Leonard Tauro, Managing Director, MSD India speaking on the occasion of the launch of Cancidas IV.

Cancidas IV cures fungal infections caused by specific species of the Candida and Aspergillus class of fungi. "The prevalence of such fungal infections has been associated with sub-groups of patients such as those in critical care units, patients with haematologic malignancies, hemotopoietic stem cell transplants and organ transplants recipients. About 20-50 percent of the patients in critical care units are susceptible to such fungal diseases. The mortality rate of patients suffering from aspergillosis, acquired during transplants, range from 58 percent to 90 percent in immunocomprimised patients in critical conditions. Cancidas IV's swift efficacy rate can provide a shield against these invasive fungal infections," says Dr Johan Maertens, an internationally renowned physician.