Bangalore, July 30, 2010: Indian pharma company Centaur has in-licensed the development and distribution rights for Sorivudine, a topical antiviral drug from aRigen, an R&D biotech company in Japan, for India and neighbouring countries. Centaur will soon approach the Drugs Controller General, India (DCGI) for permission for Phase II and Phase III trials and for marketing rights in India. Sorivudine is a local application, for Herpes Zoster, which will be introduced for the first time in India, by 2013.

aRigen’s President & CEO, Dr Gensuke Tokoro sais, “aRigen Pharmaceuticals is a drug discovery and development biotech company in Japan (Tokyo) with a commitment to discovering breakthrough pharmaceutical seeds discovered in Japan, and developing innovative pharmaceutical products for the entire global population.”

Commenting on the deal, Centaur’s Managing Director, Mr SD Sawant, said, “Centaur Pharmaceuticals, ranks among India's few, fully integrated pharmaceutical firms. We have built 4 building blocks to drive future growth- formulations, API, contract manufacturing and clinical research. Our strategy is to ink similar in-licensing agreements with the world's leading drug discovery and development players like aRigen, and derive synergies by leveraging our proficiencies across the pharmaceutical value chain.”