Dengue drug maker receives enquiries from abroad

Bengaluru-based Micro Labs brings botanical tablet Caripill to push platelet count in dengue patients

The rise in the number of dengue cases this year has created an opportunity for Micro Labs. About 200,000 units of the company’s Caripill drug, used to increase blood platelet count, have already been sold.

The company, which has received supply enquiries for the drug from Indonesia and Malaysia, plans to introduce a syrup form for children soon. Micro Labs started marketing the medicine in July. It says it conducted trials on 250 patients, adding none needed platelet transfusion. Priced at Rs 375 for a five-day course of 15 tablets (a unit), Caripill is primarily being marketed in the Delhi National Capital Region, Maharashtra and south Indian states, where many cases of dengue have been reported.

Prabhu Kasture, senior medical advisor at the company, said the herbal extract-based medicine had been approved by the Ministry of AYUSH. “We are working towards securing a certificate of pharmaceutical product by the Drug Controller General of India. But at this stage, it is not mandatory for Caripill,” he added.

The company, Kasture said, was working on seeking approvals from authorities in Indonesia and Malaysia to export the drug. Micro Labs earns annual revenue of Rs 1,500 crore from the domestic market and an additional Rs 1,000 crore from exports. The revenue from Caripill so far is estimated at about Rs 7 crore.

The company has said Caripill, made from papaya leaf extracts, does not have side effects. It can be consumed by anyone aged more than 18, provided it is prescribed by a qualified physician. “In two weeks, a syrup from the same extract will be launched and it can be consumed by children,” Kasture said. Micro Labs, which has 14 manufacturing facilities, says it had to outsource Caripill’s manufacturing to a third party because none of its plants could manufacture herbal medicine.

This year, the Delhi National Capital Region is said to have seen the worst outbreak of dengue since 2010, with about 1,900 confirmed cases and five deaths. Experts say as many cases are unreported, the actual numbers could be much higher.

In case one suffers from dengue, caused by a virus transmitted through mosquito bites, doctors prescribe paracetamol tablets to bring down body temperature.

Also, blood platelet count tends to fall, with transfusion of platelets necessary if the count falls below 30,000 per microlitre. Transfusion is expensive, with costs ranging between Rs 11,000 and Rs 20,000, excluding hospitalisation costs.

Delhi and national capital region is said to have witnessed the worst outbreak of dengue since 2010 with close to 1,900 confirmed cases and five deaths. Medical experts, however, said that many of the cases go unreported and the actual number could be much higher.