Dr Reddy’s ties up with Sanofi to distribute vaccine brands

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd has tied up with Sanofi Healthcare India Pvt. Ltd to distribute some of the latter’s pediatric and adult vaccine brands in India, the company informed the exchanges on Wednesday, 27 March.

Dr Reddy’s intimation came after market hours. Shares of Dr Reddy’s declined 1.22% on BSE to ₹6,052.50 at market close against a 0.73% jump in the benchmark Sensex index to 72,996.31.

Under the arrangement, Dr Reddy’s will have exclusive rights to promote and distribute Sanofi’s Hexaxim, Pentaxim, Tetraxim, Menactra, FluQuadri, Adacel, and Avaxim 80U.  The brands saw combined sales of about ₹426 crore ($52 million) as per IQVIA Moving Annual Total (MAT) February 2024, the company said.

IQVIA is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry.

Hexaxim, Pentaxim, and Tetraxim vaccines target multiple diseases in infants and children, while Menactra, FluQuadri, Adacel, and Avaxim 80U extend protection to broader age groups against specific infections like meningococcal disease, influenza, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, and hepatitis A.

Sanofi will continue to own, manufacture, and import these brands to the country.

“Vaccine confidence has reached its highest in India in the last few years. Yet, there is much to be done for the rest of the country’s large unvaccinated cohort. To fulfil our long-term commitment to India and expand our geographic reach, we’re pleased to partner with Dr. Reddy’s for exclusive distribution and promotion,” Preeti Futnani, general manager for vaccines-India, Sanofi, said.

M.V. Ramana, chief executive officer, branded markets-India and emerging markets at Dr. Reddy’s, said: “We are happy to have the opportunity to leverage our strengths in promotion and distribution to considerably expand engagement with healthcare professionals and help widen access of Sanofi’s well-established and trusted vaccine brands in India. We continue our efforts to become the partner of choice in bringing novel, innovative and trusted drugs to patients in India through strategic collaborations. The portfolio now gives Dr. Reddy’s a strong presence in the vaccine segment, propelling us to the second position among vaccines players in India. Through each product and partnership, our aim is to serve over 1.5 billion patients by 2030.”

The company said there will be no upfront payment involved in the arrangement.