Date:31/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/07/31/stories/2004073101370400.htm

Back Eli Lilly slashes therapy cost for Sepsis by 40 pc

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , July 30

COMMEMORATING the achievement of its therapy for Sepsis, commonly known as blood poisoning, the global pharmaceutical major Eli Lilly has inaugurated the second `Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence on Critical Care Interventions', a three-day conference, on Friday here.

The conference being organised as `Landmarks' since the scientific programme overviewed the landmarks in the history of Critical Care and Severe Sepsis Management. Over 130 eminent physicians from across the country and Asian region and international faculty from the US, Canada, Malaysia and Taiwan attended the meet.

Addressing newspersons, the Eli Lilly India Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Rajiv Gulati, said aimed at both commercial benefits and making the drug - Xigirs - affordable to more number of patients across the country, the company has slashed the treatment cost by over 40 per cent to around Rs 3.5 lakh from Rs 5 lakh.

Xigris, termed as the breakthrough drug to treat Sepsis, was discovered and developed by Eli Lilly. In view of the complex nature of the molecule, the drug is currently being manufactured only at a single place in the world, Mr Gulati said.

According to him, Xigris is the only drug available that treats the disease - Sepsis. The drug was launched in the country in October 2002 and till now 358 patients were treated with the drug, out of those 48 per cent survived.