Venus Remedies Limited, a research based global pharmaceutical company has secured its 3rd US patent for it’s another novel antibiotic product – POTENTOX. Granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the patent protects the composition of POTENTOX and the method of treatment.

The Patent provides an exclusivity period for POTENTOX until May, 2027. In addition to this new patent grant, POTENTOX is protected by a number of other patents from across the Globe including India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine. Potentox is an antibiotic adjuvant entity (AAE); a new drug product effective in case of Hospital Acquired Pneumoniae and Febrile Neutropenia infections, Quinolones or Aminoglycoside resistant cases.

``We see this patent grant as recognition of the capability of not only our company but Indian pharmaceutical industry as a whole in the field of pharmaceutical research. Potentox US patent has reinstated our capability to bridge the unmet need in the field of antibiotics that would also help in getting the product commercialized in the US markets. We have already initiated for strategic tie-ups with Global Pharma giants,’’ says Dr. Mufti Suhail Sayeed, Vice President-Venus Medical Research Centre (VMRC), Venus Remedies Limited.

Infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to conventional treatment, resulting in prolonged illness and greater risk of death. Getting a patent grant for POTENTOX from US at such point in time can prove to be all the more significant for society at large as the drug works synergistically on Multi-drug resistant bacteria that not only halts the development of bacterial resistance but also its spread.

As per the latest reports by Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that healthcare-acquired infections cost hospitals in the United States between $35.7 and $45 billion annually. It is estimated that the Antibiotic-resistant organisms make up a large part of these infections and result in an estimated 8 million extra days of hospitalization. The portion of excess cost attributable to resistant organisms exceeds $20 billion annually (Hughes 2011).

Potentox is the result of years of relentless efforts of scientist at Venus Medicine Research Centre. As per Dr. (Mrs) Manu Chaudhary, JMD & Director- Research, Venus Remedies Limited, “We have done clinical studies on >500 patients, which has indicated approximately 20-30% reduction in the cost of therapy as compared to conventional therapies being used. Besides this, studies conducted in hospitals across India have also shown that our novel antibiotic POTENTOX is suitable for the treatment of Nosocomial Pneumonia and Febrile Neutopenia infections.”

The Company has already been marketing POTENTOX successfully in India and few of the emerging markets around the globe. The product is growing with a CAGR of 50% since past 3 years and now Venus is planning to have a pre IND meeting with US FDA for fast track approval of this product. The Company is also open for the strategic tie-ups with the international pharma companies.

Globally, the antibiotics market generated sales of US$42 billion in 2009, representing 46% of sales of anti-infective agents (which also include antiviral drugs and vaccines) and 5% of the global pharmaceutical market. However, the antibiotics market is maturing; it showed an average annual growth of 4% over the past 5 years, out of this US alone contributes 35% of market share which is US$12 billion.