Pharmaceutical companies are cutting the prices of oral anti-diabetic, pioglitazine, due to intense competition and lower bulk-drug prices.
While Ind Swift, Glenmark, Panacea Biotech and Unichem Laboratories have already lowered the prices of their pioglitazine brands by up to 60 per cent, Ranbaxy, Nicholas Piramal and Sun Pharma are also expected to follow the suit.
Although no official confirmation is available, industry sources confirmed the development.
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From a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 5 per tablet, the price of the drug is expected to go down to Rs 2. Most of the companies who have cut the prices have already rolled out their stocks on to shelves. "Despite the significant drop in the price of the bulk drug, the main reason is intense competition," said a source.
With the number of diabetes patients in the country touching 24 million and 90 per cent of those having type-II diabetes, the market for oral anti-diabetics is estimated to be at Rs 400 crore. One of the first companies to cut prices was Ind Swift, followed by Panacea Biotech.
Some of the big companies which make and sell this drug are: Ranbaxy (Pioglar), US Vitamins (Pioz), Sun Pharmaceuticals (Pioglit), Zydus Cadilla (Glizone), Unichem (GTase), Nicholas Piramal (Piozone), Panacea Biotech (Oglo) and Glenmark (PPar).
Pioglitazine had an estimated Rs 70 crore market and a moving annual total of Rs 20 crore in 2000. "It nets a sales of Rs 3 crore approximately every month," said a source.
The market for oral anti-diabetics is estimated at Rs 240 crore with an annual growth rate of 28 per cent. This segment, along with other high-growth segments such as cardiovascular and central nervous system, sees the most number of product launches in India.