TORRENT TO MARKET CARDIOTONIC PILL IN INDIA

Torrent Pharma, an India-based drugmaker, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Tasly, one of China's largest pharma companies, to exclusively market its Cardiotonic pill in India.

Cardiotonic is sold in 13 countries and is the highest-selling medicine in China, with annual sales of more than $160 million, according to Torrent. The company believes it also has the potential to be a blockbuster drug in India.

Cardiotonic is based on traditional Chinese medicine and is used for the treatment and prevention of diseases like coronary artery disease, diabetes and hypertension. The drug's droplet pill formulation offers many advantages such as low dosage, rapid and complete absorption, fast onset of action, high potency and convenience. This in-licensing deal is first of its kind in India involving the traditional medicine segment, according to Torrent.

The deal comes at a time when India is poised to become the country with the largest number of patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases, Torrent says. According to the World Health Organization, 7 percent of Indians currently suffer from various cardiovascular diseases, 4 percent are diabetics and 7 percent have hypertension.