Oasmia Pharma to commercialize Paclical in Russia and CIS

Swedish drug developer Oasmia Pharmaceutical (STO: OASM) says it has shipped Paclical, the company’s lead cancer product, to Pharmasyntez, its distribution partner in Russia which is expected to commence sales efforts promptly.

Paclical, a novel water-soluble formulation of paclitaxel, was approved in April 2015 by the Russian regulatory agency (The Pharma Letter April 20).

Pharmasyntez is expected to market the product in Russia, Ukraine and Georgia as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The market for cytostatics in Russia amounts to $2.05 billion with an annual growth rate of 36% according to DSM, the Russian equivalent of IMS Health.  

“We are pleased to launch Paclical in this important region, effectively providing patients with a treatment that improves their safety profile, enables higher doses, shortens infusion time, and eliminates the need for pre-medication,” said Julian Aleksov, executive chairman of Oasmia.

In the recently published results from Oasmia’s pivotal Phase III study, Paclical showed a positive risk/benefit profile compared to treatment with Taxol; removing the need for pre-medication, shortening infusion time to one hour, and possibly reducing the risk of experiencing neuropathy.