Pharma News
Merck will relaunch global brand
To boost its consumer healthcare business in India, pharma major Merck will relaunch Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil, an iconic global brand Till a few years ago, it was marketed and distributed by local company Universal Medicare. The move is expected to give Merck a strong foothold in the vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) segment within the roughly Rs 3,000-crore-over-the-counter (OTC), market in India. VMS is the largest segment within OTC occupying 30 per cent of the space. The balance is distributed between pain relievers, gastrointestinal problem relievers (such as antacids, indigestion tablets etc) and cough-cold products, among others. In the last few years, the...
Read MoreDrugmakers Look to Break Rural Deadlock
Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer & Ranbaxy focus on hinterland Sample this: India’s rural market accounts for half of two-wheeler sales, a third each of fast-moving consumer goods sales and telephone subscriptions and 60% of gold consumption. In contrast, the drug industry in spite of the importance of medicine still sees the rural market accounting for just 20% of its revenues. Big drugmakers such as Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Ranbaxy and Aventis are keen to emulate the consumer industry’s success in the hinterland, but are facing a raft of challenges. “While aspiration products like mobile phones, and direct-to-home televisions have gained a...
Read MoreGSK Consumer seeks growth from rural and low market share regions
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd (GSKCH), in a presentation made to analysts last week, said it is on track to achieve its target of doubling turnover between 2007 and 2011. It overcame the limitation of a disproportionate amount of sales coming from one category, health food drinks, and within that from one brand—Horlicks. It achieved this with the help of variants, extending the brand into new categories such as biscuits, nutritional bars and noodles, and also launched a low-priced malt drink for the rural markets. All of this was also backed by investments in expanding distribution and sizeable advertising spends. That has worked, with good growth in both...
Read MoreOzone Pharmaceuticals signs marketing pact with Japanese firm Koboyashi
Ozone Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday said it has entered into a marketing pact with Japan-based Koboyashi Pharmaceuticals to strengthen its presence in the pain management segment in the country. As part of the agreement, Ozone will launch Koboyashi’s air activated heat packs under the brand name “DFO Care” in the Indian market “We have entered into an original exclusive manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Koboyashi under which we will get the product from Japan and market it in India,” Ozone Group Chairman and Managing Director SC Sehgal told PTI. Currently the company sells pharmaceutical products such as DFO gel and Axbex. Commenting on the...
Read MoreDrug Cos’ Sales Grow 21% in Nov on Anti-infectives
Top three gainers of the month are Macleods with 45% growth & sales at Rs. 1,108 crore; Pfizer with 35% growth & sales at Rs. 1,218 crore; Wockhardt with 32% growth & sales at Rs. 1,024 crore Indian drug makers posted a 21% month-on-month growth in November sales, which was the highest in the past 14 months, driven by an increase in demand for respiratory anti-infective drugs. According to data from research body All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), domestic drug makers posted sales of Rs. 4,912 crore in November compared with Rs. 4,668 crore in October. “This is indicative of viral and bacterial infections flare-up,” said Ameesh...
Read MoreCough & cold medicines overtake antibiotics
Cough and cold seem to be our biggest worry as far as healthcare concerns go. The trend is visible with not only certain cough and cold medicines being the largest selling drugs, but with popular cough medication Phensedyl also overtaking antibiotic Augmentin to become the top-selling drug in the pharma retail market. Phensedyl, after showing a dip earlier this year, has regained its share from Augmentin. Phensedyl which is marketed by Abbott, witnessed a growth of little over 12% for the 12-month period ended October this year, while GlaxoSmithKine’s Augmentin grew just 7% during the period, according to consultancy firm, IMS Health which tracks retail pharma sales....
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