Pharma Major Lupin Limited (Lupin) and Novartis Healthcare Private Limited (NHPL) have entered into a co-marketing agreement to promote Novartis's Indacaterol / Glycopyrronium 110mcg/50mcg inhaler, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) under the brand name of Loftair.

Lupin would be using its own specialty field force to promote Loftair inhaler. NHPL will continue to market Indacaterol / Glycopyrronium 110mcg/50mcg inhaler under its brand name Sequadra through its own sales force.

Loftair is a fixed dose combination of two bronchodilators: Indacaterol maleate, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist (LABA) and glycopyrronium bromide, a long-acting anticholinergic (LAMA) for the treatment of COPD. The once daily Indacaterol / Glycopyrronium combination significantly reduced the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations by 31% compared to the current standard of care (SFC twice-daily salmeterol + fluticasone combination) in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This combination has also shown superior efficacy vs SFC (salmeterol/fluticasone) for lung function, breathlessness (assessed using the Transition Dyspnea Index), health-related quality of life (measured using the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire) and on-demand (rescue medication) salbutamol use. Indacaterol / Glycopyrronium combination is approved for use in COPD in 82 countries including US, EU, Japan, Canada, countries within Latin America and Australia. The agreement helps address the growing incidence of COPD, by making better treatment options available to patients in India.

Announcing the agreement, Mr Shakti Chakraborty, group president, India Region Formulations, Lupin said, "We at Lupin are excited about the expansion of our ongoing partnership with Novartis Healthcare Private Limited (NHPL) for the Inhalation / COPD segment. We had previously entered into a similar agreement with NHPL to market Onbrez. We are confident that this partnership for Loftair will enable us to further consolidate and strengthen our market leadership within the Indian COPD, Anti-Asthma, Inhalation therapy segments."