Company Watch

Zydus Cadila firms up presence in oncology with Nudoxa

Our News Bureau - Mumbai

Zydus Cadila has introduced an NDDS product Nudoxa for the treatment of various cancers. One of the critical drugs used in chemotherapy, Nudoxa heralds a new approach in cancer therapy. With chemotherapy being a common mode of treatment in cancers, there has been a long-standing need for a drug that is stable and long lasting with reduced toxicity and side effects. Nudoxa addresses this need.

A patented product in India and South Africa, patents for Nudoxa have also been filed in EU, US, Japan and several countries globally. Doxorubicin, the first generation drug, was launched in 1960s and gave a new lease of life to cancer patients with its ability to combat aggressive and malignant tumours. This DNA-interacting drug, however, was discovered to cause life-threatening side effects in the form of cardiac abnormalities. Advancement on this therapy resulted in liposomal doxorubicin in which the molecules of the drug are encapsulated in a fatty coating known as liposomes. The liposomes allow the doxorubicin to be delivered specifically in greater amounts to the cancer cells, while having fewer side effects on the healthy tissues.

A further advancement in this line of treatment was the Pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin, a unique form of liposomal doxorubicin in which the liposomes are coated with polyethylene glycol, leading to a much longer half-life in the blood. However Pegylated-liposomal doxorubicins are likely to cause 'Hand-Foot Syndrome,' characterised by skin eruptions on the palms of the hand or soles of the feet, leading to interruption in therapy.

A new variant of liposomal doxorubicin, Nudoxa with its unique drug delivery system is a breakthrough in cancer therapy as it offers the benefits of Pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin without its major side effects like the hand foot syndrome. Marketed by Zydus Biogen, Nudoxa is manufactured by Zydus-BSV Pharma, the joint venture company of Zydus Cadila and Bharat Serums and Vaccines. Founded in 2005, Zydus-BSV Pharma focuses on targeted therapies in the area of oncology. Nudoxa is being used as a chemotherapy drug to treat various cancers, particularly, breast cancer—the second most common type of cancer, ovarian cancer—the fifth-leading cause of cancer death in women, and AIDS—related Kaposi sarcoma, which develops in people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).