BHARAT Biotech International has been awarded a licence for indigenous manufacture of recombinant streptokinase, the primary drug for dissolving blood clots that occur when a patient suffers from a heart attack syndrome. The green light from the Drug Controller General of India recently makes the Hyderabad-based company the first firm to roll out streptokinase, a drug with a market size of Rs 30-50 crore.

According to Dr Krishna Ella, CMD, Bharat Biotech, clinical trials for the drug had been completed on over 100 patients in Bangalore and Kolkata. “By manufacturing the product indigenously, we are confident of bringing down the cost of this drug, which has been all along imported into India,” he said.

The recombinant streptokinase scores over its non-recombinant counterpart in many respects, the most significant one being its ability to prevent excessive bleeding, Dr. Ella said. This Rs 30 crore project was part funded by the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology of the Government of India, which provided Rs 11 crore. While SBI put in Rs 7 crore, the remaining Rs 12 crore came by way of internal accruals.