It's time for India's one-brand pharma firms to scale up, diversify

Many of these brands are not protected against the discovery a new, more efficient molecule as the small firms that own them have not kept pace with the latest research

Some of the biggest winners in the country’s Rs  1.3-trillion drug market come from its smallest firms, family-run businesses with limited financial and marketing heft that have a superbrand in their portfolio. Topical disinfectant Betadine (Win Medicare), anti-cold medicine Sinarest (Centaur Pharma), a tonic relabelled as a nutraceutical, Dexorange (Franco Indian Pharma) and multi-vitamin Zincovit (Apex Lab) among many others are all market leaders with enviable recall, often going head-to-head with large, global pharma brands. 

Smart, word-of-mouth marketing aided by some deft and nimble distribution practices have helped carve out huge swathes of the market so far. However, while the brand