DCGI approves world’s first drug to treat liver disease

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Zydus Cadila’s new drug application for Saroglitazar to treat a particular condition of liver, commonly known as Non-Cirrhotic Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) in India. The disease commences with fat accumulation in the liver known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. The Ahmedabad-based company had launched Saroglitazar in India in September 2013 for treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia in patients with Type-2 diabetes not controlled by statins alone. This disease a disease is highly prevalent across the world, affecting 10% to 30% of the global population being affected by it.

Zydus Group Chairman, Pankaj Patel, said, “We are happy that our efforts to discover and develop a novel drug for patients living with NASH, an unmet healthcare need globally, have been successful. Saroglitazar will provide hope and new lease of life for millions of patients in India suffering from NASH”.