New Delhi, May 26: Zydus Cadila and Taiwan-based specialty pharmaceutical firm TLC on Wednesday said they have signed a pact to market Liposomal Amphotericin B, a critical drug to treat mucormycosis (black fungus), in India. The companies have announced signing of an agrement to commercialise AmphoTLC (Amphotericin B Liposome for Injection 50mg) in India, Zydus Cadila said in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, TLC will manufacture and supply AmphoTLC on a non-exclusive basis to Zydus, and Zydus will commercialise the drug in India, it added. "With India facing an acute shortage of the drug to treat mucormycosis, we are making this critical drug available in India on an immediate basis," Cadila Healthcare MD Sharvil Patel said.

The need of the hour is to tackle this life-threatening infection with a safe and effective therapy, he added. TLC President George Yeh said, "...we will be delivering the first batch of AmphoTLC to India to help assuage the urgent need for one of the safest and most effective antifungal drugs very soon." Mucormycosis in India: Additional 29,250 vials of Amphotericin- B allocated to States/UTs, Says Union Minister Sadananda Gowda.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization has approved the new drug application (NDA) of TLC for Amphotericin B Liposome for Injection 50mg for immediate importation as per approved usage and indication, Zydus Cadila said.

With black fungus cases rising in India in recent days, AmphoTLC will address the country's acute Liposomal Amphotericin B shortage, it added. Mucormycosis is a serious fungal infection, also known as black fungus, and COVID-19 associated mucormycosis is life-threatening, the statement said. What is Mucormycosis? Know Causes, Symptoms and Prevention.

AmphoTLC is a Liposomal Amphotericin B injection indicated for severe systemic fungal infections such as mucormycosis, it added.

Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of Zydus Group, were trading at Rs 626.45 per scrip on BSE, up 0.64 per cent from the previous close.