Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced that it has entered into a royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly") for expanding access to Lilly's drug, baricitinib in India. Sun Pharma will manufacture and distribute the drug in India.

Baricitinib is used in combination with remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in hospitalized adults requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The drug is approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for restricted emergency use in India.

Kirti Ganorkar, CEO-India business, Sun Pharma, said, "Through this collaboration, we aim to join our forces with Lilly to accelerate access to baricitinib in India at a time when it is most needed. This is another step by Sun Pharma towards making more treatment options available to patients in India for dealing with the pandemic."