Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Oct 22, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Oct 22, 2002 |
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Alternative Medicines Industry & Economy - Health Variety - Alternative Medicines Marketing - Strategy Ayurveda takes on allopathy in AIDS fight P.T. Jyothi Datta
NEW DELHI, Oct. 21 IT may not be long before a certain green-eyed Bollywood diva or the man who almost won India an Oscar Award this year are roped in to spread awareness on AIDS in the country. But this and much more are on the anvil in the anti-AIDS segment, with Maharashtra-based Veronica Laboratories Ltd (VLL) set to take on the Goliaths of the "highly-cartelised" drug industry with Herbtab, an herbal anti-AIDS drug. Mumbai-based Enpee Healthcare Ltd owns Herbtab. But its marketing would be spearheaded by the Rs 22-crore VLL, following a 10-year marketing deal that VLL recently inked with Enpee. India alone has an estimated 3.8 million HIV positive people - , but VLL has no easy road ahead as it seeks to propel itself into the drug industry's big league. Given the stiff competition from allopathic counterparts, Mr Bipin Shah, MD, VLL, told Business Line that Herbtab would be supported by social marketing in India, tie-ups abroad and public interests campaigns. Domestic pharma big daddies to contend with in this segment include: Ranbaxy, Cipla, Aurbindo and Hetero, while GlaxoSmithKline is among the biggest global players. "Herbtab is born out of Ayurvedic and Unani therapies and has no toxic elements or side-effects. Unlike the allopathic anti-AIDS cocktail that need to be taken life-long - Herbtab needs to be taken only for 12 to 15 months. It strengthens the immune system by facilitating increase in CD4 blood cells, vital for immunity. And this has been proved in clinical trials," he claimed. Priced at Rs 10 per tablet, the dosage per patient is three tablets taken three times a day or about Rs 2,700 per month. "Allopathic drugs cost between Rs 1,000 to Rs 20, 000 per month, per patient. And yet, anti-AIDS drugs clocked a sales of only Rs 30 crore last year," he points out. Cost to patient being of paramount concern, VLL seeks to network with non-governmental organisations and government-run institutions to make Herbtab available to the consumer at one-third the cost, Mr Shah informs Multi-centre Phase III trials, at an Rs 5-crore budget, are being negotiated with premier government institutes in New Delhi, Bangalore and the North East. After successful trials at Mumbai's KEM Hospital, Herbtab is available in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It would be available nationally in three months. Roping in Bollywood
VLL has roped in Dr Jabbar Patel, director of Bollywood-flick Ambedkar, for a documentary on AIDS, expected to feature silver screen's biggest names. In the past, Shabana Azmi and more recently, Madhuri Dixit had featured in anti-AIDS campaigns. But the grapevine has it that film world's leading model-turned-actress and actor-turned-producer may be roped in this time. Unwilling to spill the beans, Mr Shah revealed that different regions would have their respective matinee-idols in the documentary. Meanwhile, public interest campaigns, to be aired in a month, are being done by Avishkar Advertising Services.
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