Dabur Buys Bio-Veds Anti-Arthritis Drug

Dabur India Ltd, the Rs 1,100 crore fast-moving consumer goods major, has today bought the exclusive production and marketing rights of anti-arthritis herbal drug, Artrex, from Pune-based Bio-Ved Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a subsidiary of the US-based Ayurcore Inc.

"We plan to launch the drug in March," said a company spokesman. However, he refused to give the financial details of the deal.

Bio-Ved Pharmaceuticals, owned by P Chitri, a non-resident Indian, introduced Artrex in 1998.

Even though the company does not have a marketing arm here, it had a marketing tie-up with Alembic Chemical. But the drug was taken out of the market after the alliance was terminated last year.

 

Riding on the new deal, Dabur plans to enter the Rs 400 crore anti-arthritis ayurvedic drug market. "The anti-arthritic segment is very large and it fits well with our other plant-based drugs," a company executive said.

With the launch of Artrex, Dabur will gain entry into the osteo- and rheumatoid-arthritis segments. Also, as about 30 per cent of the country's population suffers from arthritis-related diseases, the company sees an expanding market in this segment.

Dabur will be manufacturing the drug at one of its three facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. The company has added Alernex, an anti-allergic drug, to its portfolio of ayurvedic products in the last financial year.

Other big ayurvedic companies that are marketing anti-arthritis formulations are Vaidyanath, Zandu and Himalyan Drugs.

At present, the pharmaceuticals division of Dabur India continues to outpace the market. The division registered a growth of 29.7 per cent during 2000-2001 compared with an industry average of 12 per cent.

The company's scrip today closed on the National Stock Exchange at Rs. 68.35 and on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs. 71.45.