Alkem unveils Cetuximab under the Brand Name Cetuxa in India

Mumbai: One of India's leading drug makers, Alkem Labs, has announced the launch of the world's first Cetuximab biosimilar in the country under the brand name Cetuxa. Cetuxa will be manufactured by Alkem’s fully-owned subsidiary Enzene Biosciences and is targeted to provide affordable treatment in cases of head and neck cancers.

Cetuxa has been approved by DCGI for the management of squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. It is available at Rs 9990, a price that is pegged to be 50% more cost-effective than other available brands. This is a huge breakthrough towards extending treatment accessibility in India, where head and neck cancers are the most prevalent and highly pervasive due to rampant tobacco consumption behaviours. Head and neck cancers constitute 30% of all cancer malignancies in India. 

Cetuxa is available as a 100mg (5mg/ml) single-dose vial intravenous injection and administered as a 400 mg/m2 initial dose over a 120-minute intravenous infusion followed by a 250 mg/m2 weekly infusion over 60 minutes.

“Cetuxa is the world's first biosimilar of cetuximab; it has a proven record of better progression-free survival and overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone for managing head and neck cancer. Currently, less than 5% of patients can afford cetuximab, which makes it out of reach for patients from lower to middle socio-economic groups. With the launch of this biosimilar, we aim to ensure accessibility for the majority of the patients with affordable therapy cost and availability at most cancer management centers, said Mr. Sandeep Singh, MD, Alkem laboratories.