Strides Consumer launches joint pain relief, nicotine replacement products

The two products are being produced at a third-party unit owned by Strides Pharma group; firm is currently building a distributor network across 50 cities in the south

Strides Consumer Private Limited (SCPL), a new entrant in the Rs 27,000-crore Indian consumer healthcare product market, on Wednesday formally announced the launch of two maiden products -- Nixit for oral nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and Jointflex cream for joint pain relief and management in the southern market.

Strides Consumer is owned by InvAscent-backed Indian Life Sciences Fund and Strides Pharma Science Ltd (formerly Strides Shasun) with 74 per cent and 26 per cent shareholding in the company, respectively. It aims to offer high quality, differentiated products in consumer healthcare, based on best of global products with Indian customisation.

Stating that the two products were well received by the consumers in all south Indian metros following the soft launch last year, Strides Consumer chief executive officer, Subodh Marwah, said the firm is currently in the process of building a distributor network across 50 cities in the five southern states this year.

According to Strides Consumer, Nixit is a first-of-its-kind oral NRT that would compete with nicotine patches available in the domestic market, while the topical analgesic cream Jointflex, which consists of Glucosamine and Chondraitin Sulpate compounds, is available for the first time in India. The two products are being produced at a third-party facility owned by Strides Pharma group.

The NRT market is pegged at Rs 156 crore and is expected to reach Rs 600 crore by 2023, while the market for muscle and joint pain relief creams is expected to reach Rs 5,000 crore from the present Rs 3,000 crore in the next five years.

Refusing to share the details of the pipeline of products to be launched by the company, Marwah said the firm was currently focused only on the these two products, though it did not have any immediate sales targets. The consumer health care sector in India is expected to grow two-fold by 2024, he added.