French multinational drug major sanofi-aventis has joined the list of drug majors eyeing the generic or copycat drug sales opportunity in the Indian market. It has officially launched a new marketing initiative named ‘Prayas’ to market these generics in small towns and in rural India.
The over Rs 1,000-crore sanofi-aventis India — which mainly sells its own innovated specialty prescription products — will initially market about 15 generic products under the old label Hoechst.
The company will source the drugs from four leading contract manufacturing companies in the country. These drugs will be commonly used as anti-infection, cough & cold and pain management drugs.
“Our target is to have an additional Rs 500 crore per annum revenue within the next five years through this initiative. We will make significant investments to create infrastructure in rural markets,” said Shailesh Ayyangar, managing director of the listed entity Aventis Pharma Ltd and sanofi-aventis Group.
‘Prayas’, which means endeavour, will try to impart the latest medical knowledge to 100,000 general practitioners and specialists in rural areas, through regular workshops held by specialist doctors hired by the company from nearby big cities.
The move is to indirectly help medical representatives of sanofi-aventis gain better access and intimacy with doctors in rural areas and small towns.
Later, the company will rope in non-government organisations (NGOs) and local governments through a public-private-partnership (PPP) model to help the poor in rural India access quality medicines, said Ayyangar.
At a later stage, sanofi-aventis India may look at exporting to other near markets and manufacturing itself branded generics. It will also launch affordable branded generics for chronic diseases and combination drugs, said company officials.
By 2010, the company hopes to generate an additional Rs 50 crore from rural India, over the current Rs 230 crore revenue, said Pratin Vete, senior director, Hoechst Business Unit, a marketing arm of sanofi-aventis.
Aventis Pharma was earlier known as Hoechst Fedco Pharma Pvt Ltd. It was incorporated in the mid-1950s and was a major drug maker in India.
The Indian pharmaceutical market is well on course to more than double its size to $20 billion by 2015 and half of this growth will be powered by rural India, according to a recent McKinsey Report.
This has prompted a host of domestic and international companies to step up presence in the hinterland. Companies such as Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin, Piramal Healthcare and Mankind have established an extensive domestic network to tap the potential of the domestic market. Multinational companies like Novartis, GSK and Pfizer are also trying to expand their rural foray with generics in the domestic market. Daiichi Sankyo-owned Ranbaxy Laboratories is expected to unveil an aggressive rural marketing plan by January.
Innovation-driven multinational drug makers are now getting into generics, as their drug pipelines dwindle and numerous drugs worth over $100 billion are going off-patent within the next few years.
Sanofi-aventis India has conducted 554 workshops during the pilot phase initiated since May for over 3,200 doctors across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Soon, the company will extend the programme to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh covering about 30,000 doctors.
