Mumbai:

Says Kopran deputy general manager Ragaram Sawant: “We have launched our sidenafil citrate brand Nyte in the market just one-and-a-half months back. The product has already made sales of over 15,000 strips last month and the company is expecting sales of 30,000 strips by the end of this month.”

Sawant says the low price is the main attraction of the brand. “We did not even carry out a full-fledged advertising campaign before the launch. But, the sales are surging. This trend would also force other players in the market to slash prices.”

Over the past-one-and-a-half years, over 18 companies have introduced the local versions of the ‘magic pill’ which has created a frenzy in the US market in the year 2000. The US-based Pfizer Inc owns patent rights of the drug.

The Ahmedabad-based pharma major Zydus Cadila was the first to launch the Indianised version of Viagra, called Penegra. This was followed by Ranbaxy Laboratories’ Caverta, Torrent Pharma’s Androx, Unichem Laboratories’ Erix, Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ Juan, Sun Pharmaceuticals’ Edegra, Ajanta Pharma’s Kamagra, Alembic’s Alsigra, Cipla’s three brands Crogra, Filgra and Suhagra, Lupin’s Enthusia and Intas Pharmaceuticals’ Intragra.

All the above brands are priced between Rs 17 and Rs 18 per pill. The total market size of sidenafil citrate in India is estimated at Rs 50 crore, growing at the rate of 62 per cent annually.

Says Ajanta Pharma chief financial officer Aravind Agarwal: “Certainly, the price cut will create big competition in the domestic Viagra market. It may even force others to cut their prices. As far as we are concerned, it is too early to say any thing on the price cut “

Unichem marketing director Ashok Jain says that eventually it will force other players to cut the prices. “But, it would not be so immediate.”

The sidenafil citrate drug formulations are used to overcome the problem of erectile dysfunction in men. It is estimated that about 30-50 per cent of the Indian male population in the age group of 40-60 years could be affected by the disorder.

Says Sushil Finance pharma analyst Asit Bhandarkar: “The price cut of a brand is dependent on the policy of the corporates on that particular drug segment. It is not necessary that all the corporates operating in the same segment have to slash their prices. It depends on the profits they are generating from the particular drug.”