Venus Remedies gets approval to market Meropenem in Spain

Venus Remedies has secured marketing authorisation from Spain for meropenem. The company, which has got this approval through its German subsidiary Venus Pharma GmbH for 500mg, 1g and 2g injections of this last-recourse antibiotic, happens to be the largest exporter of meropenem from India in the last three years.

“With plans to launch the product in December this year, we will be able to capture a 10 per cent share in the $6.34 million meropenem market of Spain. The marketing approval for this critically important antibiotic has once again proved the company’s world-class manufacturing capabilities and its expertise in developing high-quality products. It will help us strengthen our position in the European market as well,” said Saransh Chaudhary, President, Global Critical Care, Venus Remedies.

A broad-spectrum antibiotic of the carbapenem class used in intensive care units of hospitals as a last resort for the treatment of life-threatening infections, product meropenem contributes to 40 per cent of the company’s total sales. The market size for this product in Europe is about $70.34 million. Venus Remedies has launched this drug in major European markets under its own brand name and through strategic alliance partners by way of tie-ups.

The company has secured more than 120 marketing authorisations for meropenem throughout the world from countries like the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, Cyprus, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico, among others.

“Riding on the upcoming marketing approvals for meropenem across Europe, we expect Venus Pharma GmbH to achieve a significant increase in turnover in the coming quarters. We are holding talks for more strategic tie-ups with multinational companies in other regulated markets,” said Akshansh Chaudhary, Executive Director, Venus Remedies.

The company informed that it has managed to record about $27 million in sales solely through the marketing of meropenem. The facilities of Venus Remedies have a capacity of manufacturing 24 million units of meropenem per annum on single-shift basis. The company is currently utilising 60 per cent of its capacity.

The company’s annual sales of meropenem, which stood at $27 million in 2022-23, are estimated to grow to $29.7 million by the end of 2023-24 at a compounded annual growth rate of 10 per cent.