Takeda launches Vedolizumab in India for treatment of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's Disease

"The launch of our highly innovative GI portfolio is a testimony of our commitment to India and patients living with diseases like ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD)," Takeda India Country Head Koki Sato said. Patient access to Kynteles will further augment the company's vision of providing additional and innovative treatment options to healthcare professionals treating UC and CD, he added.

Drug firm Takeda India on Wednesday said it has launched biological drug Vedolizumab under the brand name 'Kynteles' used for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severely active ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease, at a price of Rs 71,310 per vial in India. The launch is a part of the company's gastrointestinal (GI) portfolio, which is its second therapeutic area in India after rare diseases (haematology, genetic diseases, and immunology), Takeda India said in a statement.

Kynteles has shown favourable safety and efficacy results in treating patients suffering from moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), it added. "The launch of our highly innovative GI portfolio is a testimony of our commitment to India and patients living with diseases like ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD)," Takeda India Country Head Koki Sato said.

Patient access to Kynteles will further augment the company's vision of providing additional and innovative treatment options to healthcare professionals treating UC and CD, he added. When asked about the price of the drug in India, Sato told PTI: "Takeda is committed to bringing access to innovative therapies with the right value positions including fair pricing strategies based on the country environment... We continue to optimise our prices from patient access perspective and it is currently priced at Rs 71,310 per vial".

The recommended dose regimen of Kynteles is 300 mg administered by intravenous infusion at zero, two and six weeks and then every eight weeks thereafter in both UC and CD, he added. The product is manufactured by Takeda Austria GmbH, Sato said.

It is estimated around 1.4 million patients who have IBD in India and this is "something which is very much important to us to launch this product," he added. Both UC and CD are chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases that can be debilitating and sometimes lead to life-threatening complications and require life-long disease management, the statement said.

Kynteles, more widely known as Entvyio, is currently marketed in more than 60 countries, it added. When asked if Kynteles and Entyvio are the same medicines, Sato said: "Yes, both are the same. Globally, Kynteles is known as Entyvio. In India and South Korea, the product is marketed as Kynteles." Vedolizumab is a gut-selective biologic and is approved as an intravenous formulation. It is a humanised monoclonal antibody.

Takeda India is part of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd's group of companies. In India, the company currently focuses on the areas of rare diseases, including haemophilia and lysosomal storage disorders and plasma-derived therapies..