Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, the pharma arm of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, commercially launched the indigenously developed PEGEX (Pegfilgrastim) in India. PEGEX (Pegfilgrastim) is expected to reduce the duration of Neutropenia and also the incidence of febrile Neutropenia in patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy for treatment of cancer. The price of PEGEX (Pegfilgrastim) is Rs 17,900 to the patient and it is much cheaper compared with other pegfilgrastim brands.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch of PEGEX (Pegfilgrastim), Arun Khanna, COO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals said, “Cytotoxic chemotherapy induced neutropenia is often identified in 10 – 57% of patients and with certain chemotherapy regimens the risk of febrile neutropenia is more than 20%.  Currently filgrastim, the conventional growth factor is used in a majority as a daily injection for 5-10 days per chemotherapy cycle.  Sometimes, due to logistic reasons the patient cannot take the recommended daily filgrastim injections leading to chemotherapy dose delays and dose reductions thus probably affecting the outcome. PEGEX (Pegfilgrastim) offers the convenience of one injection per chemotherapy cycle with similar safety and efficacy profile as filgrastim.”

What is Neutropenia?

Neutropenia is a condition of reduced number of neutrophils in the blood.  Neutrophils are part of WBC’s (White Blood Cells) which plays an important role in fighting infection and maintaining immunity. During cytotoxic chemotherapy sometimes the patient’s neutrophil count can come down drastically exposing the patient at increased risk of infection which could lead to prolonged admission and also use of certain high end antibiotics.  Neutropenia can sometimes be catastrophic.  Presence of neutropenia can force the physician to reduce the intended chemotherapy dose or postpone the regimen until the neutrophil count comes to an acceptable level. Grannulocyte –Colony stimulating growth factors (G-CSF) like filgrastim and pegfilgrastim are used to increase the neutrophil count in chemotherapy induced neutropenia.

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