Faster drug passage to India

Since December last year, multinational pharmaceutical companies have launched as many as six patented drugs in India, compared with a dry patch before.

With two more drugs and 4-5 vaccines set to follow, it seems drug multinationals are overcoming their apprehensions about the Indian market as the other fear "" of conceding a headstart to competition "" looms.

Till late last year, most of these companies were playing with patented drugs held close to their chests, seeking more clarity on data protection, patenting of derivatives and pre-and post-grant opposition.

While not much has changed on any of these fronts, the attitude certainly has.

Leading the pack is Pfizer India. The company launched Viagra, the drug that raised it to new levels of success in the global market, in India in December and quickly followed that up with its neuropathic drug, Lyrica, and cardiovascular drug, Caduet, in February.

"We plan to align our India portfolio to the global portfolio and there will be several more products introduced in India," said Kewal Handa, managing director, Pfizer Ltd.

The other notable change is the gap between the global and Indian launches. While Viagra took seven years to make its entry into India, Lyrica is here just months after hitting the global shelves.

GSK launched its patented cardiovascular drug, Carvedilol, in March and is poised to launch an asthma drug and about 4-5 vaccines "" one for cervical cancer and the rest for paediatric indications.

Roche, which obtained India's first product patent in pharmaceuticals for Pegasys, a Hepatitis C therapy, in May this year, launched the drug in the same month.

In December, it had licensed Hetero to produce Oseltamivir, meant to treat birdflu.

Top executives of US-based Gilead Sciences were in town last month scouting for Indian companies to dish out multiple manufacturing and marketing licenses its anti-retroviral, Tenofovir.

"The companies are confident that they will get a patent but it may take time. It is a good business opportunity, why lose the market to others in the intervening time?" asks H Subramanium, a patent attorney.

Novartis Chairman Ranjit Shahani said: "Companies would rather launch the drug and capture the market, rather than wait for the patent to come by."

ChrysCapital Managing Director Sanjiv Kaul said India was too large a market to stay out of.

According to a recent KPMG study, the Indian pharma industry is worth $ 6 billion currently and may double by 2010.

There is also apprehensions that the Indian government will issue a compulsory licence in case the treatment is not available here.