AstraZeneca bets on licencing deals, public-private partnerships for India growth

British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca is in the process of 15 new launches in India including novel products and new indications of existing assets in two years, said Sanjeev Panchal, managing director of AstraZeneca Pharma India. "We would be doing 15 new launches starting 2023 until 2025," he told ET.

The products would be in the therapeutic segments of oncology; cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (CVRM) diseases; respiratory and immunology; and rare diseases. Some of the new products would be biologics or monoclonal antibodies, Panchal said.

To expand access to its innovative therapies, AstraZeneca is working on strategies such as public-private partnerships (PPPs) for screening and early diagnosis, entering licensing deals with India pharmaceutical companies to enhance reach, and following a country-wise or tiered pricing approach in India linked to economic indicators, ensuring the prices of the drugs are relatively lower than advanced countries, he said.


Panchal said the new launches would give growth momentum to the company in India.

AstraZeneca's India business returned to growth trajectory in FY23 after almost two years of plateauing sales due to patent expiry of key products like antiplatelet medicine Brilinta (ticagrelor) and anti-diabetes drug Forxiga (dapagliflozin).

For the nine months ended December 31, 2023, AstraZeneca revenue rose by almost 28% year on year to ₹939 crore. The growth was led by innovative molecules like lung cancer therapy Tagrisso (osimertinib), anti-ovarian drug Lynparza (olaparib), Imfinzi (durvalumab), anti-asthma drug Fasenra (benralizumab), and anti-lymphoma drug Calquence (acalabrutinib).

Panchal said despite the loss of exclusivity and increased competition, Brilinta sales have stabilised and continues to be the market leader. Forxiga is facing competition from copycats, and approval for new indications like heart failure and chronic kidney disease may help it to stabilise, he said.

In January, AstraZeneca announced the launch of Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for HER-2 positive metastatic breast cancer patients in India. It has also made its entry into rare disease therapy in India through the launch of Koselugo (selumetinib) for treatment of Neurofibromatosis (NF1) and has recently announced the launch of a monoclonal antibody for preterm babies.

The company also got marketing approval in India for Palivizumab, vital monoclonal antibody preventive therapy for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to babies. Panchal said AstraZeneca is doing over 50 clinical trials of its current pipeline, covering multiple therapeutic segments.

"Doing clinical trials in India is helping us to move faster regulatory wise," he said.