Zydus launches Rexigo, oral once-a-day pill to treat advanced prostate cancer

Zydus Lifesciences has launched Relugolix under the brand name, Rexigo. This is an oral once-a-day therapy for testosterone suppression in patients with advanced prostate cancer in India. Though Relugolix was available in developed countries since the last four years, patients in India did not have access to it.

Zydus is offering this pill at a cost of Rs 6995 per month which is reportedly 50 per cent less than the currently available injectable options.

The drug will be manufactured at the group’s manufacturing premises.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading cancers in men and more than 43000 cases were reported in India in 2022 as per the National Cancer Registry Program of India. Prostate cancer growth is majorly driven by the male hormone, testosterone, a member of ‘Androgens’. So, one of the key strategies of prostate cancer management is ‘Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT)’ with a goal of suppressing testosterone levels. It can be achieved by surgery or by using drugs. The duration of ADT depends on the disease status. The drugs currently used for treatment are all injectables with different routes of administration (in muscle or under the skin) and could be done only under the supervision of a care giver.

Relugolix is reportedly the only oral option of ADT drugs known as gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues with its launch globally in 2020.

A company statement informed, “It shows rapid testosterone suppression which can be sustained throughout the treatment period. It also has better safety profile for heart related adverse events. Testosterone recovery is faster once Relugolix is stopped, so it is beneficial to patients needing suppression only for a fixed duration as a part of their treatment plan.”