August 25, 2003

ZODLIN - The Advanced Antibacterial for Unprecedented Action
ZODLIN , one of FDC's recent introductions is a brand of Linezolid, which is aimed at treating serious, difficult-to-treat, life-threatening infections. With the introduction of ZODLIN , FDC has further reinforced it's strong presence in the antibiotic/ antibacterial segment and has taken another leap forward in it's mission to reach out to an ever-expanding number of seriously ill patients.

Infectious diseases are one of the largest killers worldwide and remain the leading cause of global deaths even today. Treating these infections has, in recent years, become extremely problematic because of the increasing emergence of multidrug- resistant bacterial strains as a cause of serious infections.

The Gram-positive bacteria, particularly the Staphylococcus species, the Enterococcus species and the Streptococcus species, which are acquiring resistance to most commonly used antibiotics, are emerging as the most dreadful species. Most of these species have also acquired varying levels of resistance to the higher antibacterials currently employed in these serious infections, namely Vancomycin and Teicoplanin.

Linezolid (ZODLIN) is the first agent from a new class of antibacterials, the oxazolidinones. It shows excellent activity against almost all Gram-positive bacteria, including the multi-drug resistant species like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), glycopeptide-intermediate S.aureus (GISA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci(VRE) and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. The drug also shows good activity against certain anaerobes.

ZODLIN's unique mechanism of action precludes any chances of resistance development and it's extremely high (approx. 100%) oral bioavailability gives the option of oral therapy even in serious infections, an option which was not available before.
ZODLIN also reduces the length of hospital stay for the patient and thereby brings down the treatment costs drastically.

ZODLIN is also a well-tolerated drug (with the few side-effects seen being mild in nature) unlike vancomycin and teicoplanin, which have several possibly serious side-effects including severe hypersensitivity reactions, ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Moreover, ZODLIN by virtue of it's unique pharmacokinetic properties, shows minimal incidences of drug-drug interactions and is safe for use even in geriatric patients and in patients with impaired renal or hepatic function.

With the number of patients acquiring serious Gram-positive infections increasing day by day and with the alarming pace at which bacteria are gaining resistance to commonly used antibiotics, ZODLIN is poised to play a vital role in the management of serious infections.

1 - AL - One above ALL in ALL Allergies:
FDC ventures into the highly lucrative 300 crore antiallergic market with the latest third generation blockbuster molecule 'Levocetirizine' with the brand name 1-AL .

Allergy affects 1 in 5 people worldwide and is a significant cause of increased morbidity. The mainstay in the treatment of allergy is the antihistamine class of drugs, which act as potent H1 receptor antagonists. Despite the advent of newer antiallergics cetirizine still enjoys the best patronage among the users of these medications. Over a decade cetirizine has been the best selling most popular antihistamine but is associated with major drawbacks like sedation and psychomotor impairment.

Now the market has witnessed the launch of the latest 3rd generation antihistamine Levocetirizine, which is the purer form of the time tested and trusted top selling antiallergic drug - cetirizine. Levocetirizine is no doubt better than the best, as it possesses all the goodness of cetirizine without the drawback of sedation thus levocetirizine is all set to replace the widely presented cetirizine.

The launch of 1-AL (Levocetirizine) offers the advantage of the safest option available with superior characteristics, like highest selectivity and safety.

1-AL offers:

• Faster onset of action.
• Best efficacy in nasal and skin allergies.
• No sedation and psychomotor function impairment
• Once daily dosage.
• Better patient compliance.