Global blockbusters are here

MEDICINE: Around 10 such drugs were launched in FY07.

It was a seven-year wait for Pfizer, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, before it could enter the Indian market with Viagra, its blockbuster drug in December 2005. This was after the passage of product patent law.

But, the process patent that existed previously had already allowed for a huge number of cheaper generics. Even so, within two months, Pfizer's Viagra had exceeded its own expectations by capturing 1.8 per cent of the market, worth around Rs 80 crore.

It set an example and gave hope to other pharma companies to launch their products in India.

Blockbuster drugs are innovations that generate more than $1 billion revenue for their owner. The introduction of the product patent law in India in 2005 gave a strong, legal foothold to big pharma companies to launch their global blockbusters in India. 
 

BLOCKBUSTERS LAUNCHED IN 06-07
DRUG	COMPANY
Carvedilol	GlaxoSmithKline
Tygacil and Prevenar	Wyeth
Erbitux	Merck
Byetta and Almita	Eli Lilly

Earlier this month, Eli Lilly launched Byetta (exenatide injection), its blockbuster treatment for type 2 diabetes making it the fourth major launch in the world after the US, the UK and Germany.

Besides India's growing spending capacity and incidence of diabetes, another major contributing factor to the launch was a uniquely developed ingredient in Byettas that was originally found in the Gila monster (a large North American lizard) and later synthetically developed by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

"There are cheaper, generic versions of Byetta already in the Indian market but none can match up to its impact. When we decide to launch a global blockbuster in India, we make sure that there can be no equivalent substitute of it in the market," says Sandeep Gupta, chief managing director, Eli Lilly India.

Sujay Shetty, associate director, Pricewaterhouse Coopers says: "Blockbusters will not play a major role in the Indian market for at least the next five years due to the domination of generics and the expensive nature of these drugs."

A majority of the blockbusters launched in India are tilted towards addressing lifestyle disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, with a few like Wyeth's vaccine for pneumococcal disease "" Prevenar "" being exceptions.

Surprisingly, despite the exorbitant prices of the drugs (Wyeth's Prevenar costs Rs 3,750/dose while Pfizer's Viagra costs Rs 463/50mg tablet), they are meeting sales targets.

Says Shetty, "The companies come in with a strategy and a target consumer in mind. They create an awareness for their drugs through the doctors who only prescribe them to people who can afford these drugs."