R&D that makes medicines affordable and accessible

We reshape scientific boundaries to meet patient needs

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CiproDex® is an innovative eardrop formulation, a combination of the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin and steroid Dexamethasone, widely used to treat ear infections. Over a decade ago, Dr Reddy’s decided to develop CiproDex as an affordable generic, in keeping with its promise of accelerating access to affordable medicines for everyone. But it wasn’t an easy endeavour.  

At the outset, one of the first things our scientists needed to get going was regulatory acceptance of our generic application. Given that the drug is a sterile suspension product consisting of extremely fine steroid particles floating in an antibiotic solution, a clinical trial was initially the only option. The challenge seemed insurmountable, but the team wasn’t going to give up. They reached out to their peers across the research wing, came up with a unique particle mapping solution and in time, our application was in play.

Innovating our scientific methodologies became par for the course to prove the efficacy and consistency of a generic version of a drug as complex as CiproDex. For example, how do you prove that the sizes of droplets squeezed out of each bottle is the same as the innovator’s label? The answer? Conduct a mechanised droplet study by building a robotic finger squeeze simulation machine!  

Many more innovations later, we launched our generic product in 2020, and remain the only gCiproDex in the US market today.

Our scientists and the larger team of nearly a hundred people, who embarked on this ten-year journey, saw many twists and turns along the way. But ultimately it was their determination that made everything work to their advantage. It’s how we bring affordable medicines to millions. Because Good Health Can’t Wait.

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