AstraZeneca Pharma India and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries have joined hands once again, announcing a second brand partnership to expand the availability of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate (SZC) in India. This move is aimed at making the innovative treatment for hyperkalaemia accessible to a larger number of patients who suffer from dangerously high potassium levels, particularly those with chronic kidney disease and chronic heart failure.
Under this new agreement, both companies will promote and distribute SZC under separate brand names. AstraZeneca will market the therapy as Lokelma®, while Sun Pharma will make it available as Gimliand®. Despite the shared marketing responsibilities, AstraZeneca will continue to retain the intellectual property rights, marketing authorization, and import license for the molecule.
Hyperkalaemia remains a serious clinical concern in India. It commonly affects people living with chronic kidney disease and heart failure, especially those on RAAS inhibitor therapy, which is known to raise potassium levels. Research suggests that hyperkalaemia affects nearly half of CKD patients and over 40 percent of chronic heart failure patients. If not managed properly, it can force doctors to reduce or discontinue life-saving RAAS therapies, which may worsen cardiac and renal outcomes. India has also recorded mortality rates of over 22 percent linked to this condition.
SZC has emerged as an important solution, offering fast, effective and generally well-tolerated control of elevated potassium levels. By joining forces, AstraZeneca and Sun Pharma aim to make this treatment available more quickly and more widely across the country.
Sun Pharma brings a powerful reach to this collaboration, being India’s largest pharmaceutical company with a strong prescription presence across multiple medical specialties and a 15,000-member field force. Combined with AstraZeneca’s focus on advancing science-driven healthcare, the partnership is positioned to significantly strengthen the management of hyperkalaemia in India.
