Desi biopharma player Celon Laboratories develops alternative jab for black fungus

HYDERABAD: When the country is battling a shortage of Liposomal Amphotericin B to treat Mucormycosis, more commonly known as black fungus, Hyderabad-based specialty biopharma player Celon Laboratories has developed an alternative emulsion-based Amphotericin B injection, reports Swati Bharadwaj.

The company said it was able to develop the emulsion-based formulation for the drug in-house in just three weeks and has a capacity to manufacture 10,000 vials per day, which will be enough to cater to nearly 6,000 patients per month.

Celon Labs said though the company has been manufacturing Liposomal Amphotericin B since 2013, the unavailability of a critical ingredient — lipoids, which is sourced from Germany, created a production bottleneck. The ingredients in the injection include Amphotericin API, soyabean oil, egg lecithin and glycerin, the company said.