Lupin Limited said that it has signed a royalty-free, limited, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) for manufacturing and selling the latter’s Baricitinib in India.

Baricitinib is an oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor for which India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) had been given restricted emergency use in combination with Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 in hospitalized adults needing supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Baricitinib was earlier registered in India for the treatment of adults having moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis.

Lupin stated: “With a rapid increase in active COVID-19 cases in India, the timely restricted emergency use of Baricitinib will be an important life-saving treatment for patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19.”

  baricitinib, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Eli Lilly and Company, India, Lupin, remdesivir