Pfizer Likely To Unveil Anti-Fungal Drug

Pfizer India, the local arm of the US-based drug multinational, is planning to introduce an anti-fungal product in the country in 2002. The product will be manufactured locally and is expected to be competitively priced.

The company refused to reveal the name of the drug. Bomi Gagrat, director, pharmaceuticals, Pfizer India, said, "The branded generic version is already available internationally and is for systemic infections."

The primary therapeutic segments that Pfizer focuses are anti-infectives, nutritional and cardio-vascular. Among its largest brands is Protienex, a nutrional supplement, clocked sales of Rs 28 crore this year. At Rs 105 per tin, this prescription supplement has a market share of over 17 per cent in India. Protinex contributes 7.9 per cent to the sales of Pfizer.

 

Minipress XI, another major brand of Pfizer, is an alpha blocker and is estimated to be at around Rs 5.7 crore in value. It contributes 5.2 per cent to the sales of the company and has a market share of 3.1 per cent.

According to ORG-Marg, growth of both these brands have slowed down in last year.

Another large brand of Pfizer, which was originally a part of the Parke Davis stable, is Becosules-Z. This vitamin B complex, which is worth around Rs 3 crore in value, contributes more than 3.8 per cent to the company's sales and has a market share of around 3 per cent.

Corex, Pfizer's cough preparation, contributes 3 per cent to the company's sales and has a market share of over 1.5 per cent. Another cough preparation, Broncorex, has seen a growth of around 38 per cent and has a market share of a little over one per cent.