Cipla ties up with Pfizer for exclusive marketing of four brands

Pfizer India and Cipla on Friday announced a partnership under which Cipla will exclusively market and distribute four Pfizer brands in India to increase its reach.

The first partnership between Pfizer and Cipla in India aims to make some of Pfizer’s best medicines available across India by leveraging Cipla’s vast reach, it said. The companies include cough syrups Corex Dx and Corex LS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) Dolonex, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) Nexium and oral antibiotic Dalacin C. Pfizer will manufacture these drugs and supply them to Cipla.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Pfizer Ltd, the Indian-listed subsidiary of the multinational, said in an exchange filing that the partnership will last for five years.

Meenakshi Nevatia, country head of Pfizer India, said the partnership will help it reach millions of patients across India and combine “Pfizer’s legacy of breakthroughs, quality and innovation with Cipla’s wide distribution reach and network”.

‘We strengthen strong brands’

Corex Dx, Dolonex and Neksium are among Pfizer’s top brands in India. Last month, the company launched the oral drug Rimegepant ODT in India for the treatment of acute migraine with or without aura in adults who previously had inadequate response to triptan.

“At Cipla, we believe that meaningful partnerships help make strong brands even stronger. This association with Pfizer is aligned with our continued focus on building a formidable presence in key therapeutic areas and increasing access to high-quality treatments driven by our purpose of ‘caring for life’. Our distribution capabilities will support the broader reach of such trusted treatments to the patients who need them most,” said Achin Gupta, chief global operations officer at Cipla.

This development comes after Cipla signed a deal with Eli Lilly in October for the exclusive distribution of blockbuster weight loss drug Mounjaro. The drug was launched on December 10 under a different brand name called Yurpeak.

Cipla’s strong domestic performance, supported by strong performance in respiratory, diuretics and urology, propelled it to the second position in the Indian pharma market in October and November.