Western Drug Firms Zero In On Herbal Medicines

The United States already allows sale of herbal medicines as diet supplements, and Indian firms like Dabur have a fair share of the estimated $600-million market. In fact, two of the top four herbal medicine brands in the US are from India.

Several US, German, French and Italian companies have either started or are on the verge of getting into herbal drugs research. They already have a handful of products in the market, and plans are to have over 200 herbal drugs for a variety of ailments ranging from common cold to cancer within four years.

Representatives of German company Kaden and Italian firm Indena told Business Standard at the World Pharma fair here that they each have about $50-million plans lined up for herbal medicines. British, French and Swiss companies, too, are eyeing the herbal market and have shortlisted areas they want to get into.

 

According to Larry Lawson, director of the US firm Natures Way Products, The 1994 US Dietary supplement Health and Education Act, which allows over-the-counter sales of many herbal medicines and substantially relaxes the criteria for new drug introduction, has been responsible for a nearly ten-fold jump in herbal medicines sales.

Since then, over 50 US companies have got into the act. This is in a large measure due to the success of Indian firms which made millions out of selling herbal remedies for minor ailments. Germany holds the lead in Europe regarding the amount of high-quality research carried out on herbal medicines, said a Kaden official.

Recognising the potential of herbal remedies as potential money-spinners, the German government has set up a new division in the Federal Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Medicinal Products. In the next one year, we could have at least 10 to 15 new high-quality herbal medicines in the market, the Kaden official said.

Bauer, a German company, introduced a cold prevention herb, echinacea, in the US earlier this year.

It proved highly successful, and soon enough commanded 9 per cent of the total US herbal medicines market. Since then, the company has been lobbying hard to introduce the same drug in Germany.

Tests since the middle of this year have repeated the US effect, and the drug looks set to storm the German market after a formal go-ahead for medicinal remedies. Indena has started test-marketing an extract from grape-seeds, which prevents degradation of blood vessels, for use in the treatment of blood cancer and diseases associated with ageing.

The greatest attraction for western firms, however, seems to be garlic. Following the success of Indian companies with various forms of garlic extracts, they have launched a multi-sectoral research to test the efficacy of garlic in diseases like influenza, colon cancer, stomach disorders and in lowering cholesterol and post-operative care.

According to Lawson, over a 100 research projects on analysing garlics properties are on. About 35 garlic-based drugs are in clinical trials.