Hyderabad, May 12 : Pharma major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd on Wednesday announced that it has entered into a royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company for the manufacture and commercialization of baricitinib in India. The drug baricitinib has received restricted emergency use approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry of Health, India, for use 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). This partnership comes at a critical juncture in the fight against the pandemic in India and adds to the company's existing range of Covid-19 therapeutics covering the full spectrum from mild to moderate and severe conditions of the disease, and a vaccine, the Hyderabad-based company said. "From the start, we have been determined to explore every possible avenue against COVID-19. Our collaboration with Lilly will help us make yet another treatment option available to patients in India," said Deepak Sapra, Chief Executive Officer, API and Services, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. In another development, Dr Reddy's announced the launch of Ertapenem for Injection, 1 g/vial, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of INVANZ(ertapenem for injection) for injection, 1 g/vial, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). "We are pleased to bring this important product to market at this time," says Marc Kikuchi, CEO, North America Generics, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. "We're excited to extend our strategic partnership with Gland Pharma whose hard work, in collaboration with the team at Dr. Reddy's, has enabled the execution of this launch." "We are delighted about this collaboration, as it brings together Dr. Reddy's experienced marketing and distribution capabilities and Gland Pharma's robust development and manufacturing capabilities. Gland Pharma has an exclusive API supply arrangement for this product and a dedicated manufacturing facility in Hyderabad for Ertapenem Injection. With the launch of this product we see increased capacity utilization of this dedicated Penem facility," said Srinivas Sadu, MD and CEO of Gland Pharma Ltd. /IANS