Alkem Laboratories Ltd. announced that it has signed a non-exclusive patent license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. (Takeda) to commercialise Vonoprazan in India, under the brand name Vonzai as oral tablets, in 20 mg and 10 mg strengths.

Vonoprazan is a first-in-class potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB), discovered and developed by Takeda. Vonoprazan has novel mechanism of action, whereby it inhibits H+,K+-ATPase activities in a reversible and potassium-competitive manner, eliciting gastric acid suppression with high serum gastrin concentration.

In India, Vonoprazan is indicated in the treatment of reflux esophagitis (RE) and other indications such as treatment of gastric ulcers (GU), duodenal ulcers (DU), prevention of recurrence of GU or DU during low-dose aspirin or NSAID administration, and adjunct to H. pylori eradication.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Vikas Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Alkem Laboratories said, “Alkem has a formidable presence in the gastrointestinal segment and this non-exclusive patent license with Takeda will help us offer a product with novel mechanism of action for a large number of patients in India who are suffering from gastro-related ailments.”