Ajanta blockbuster drugs in US, S Africa
By Praveen Chandran | 03 May 2002
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Mumbai: The medium-sized pharma company Ajanta Pharma Ltd has decided to take two of its blockbuster drugs - Ruffage and Nimlodi - to the overseas market as the patent offices of the US and South Africa have patented these drugs in the respective countries.
Ajanta has already initiated talks with leading US and South African pharmaceutical companies for forming joint venture companies to market these drugs. Says Ajanta Pharma chief financial officer Arvind K Agarwal: “The US patent office has granted patent rights to Ruffage, while South Africa has patented our anti-arthritis drug Nimlodi. With these patent rights in place, we have decided to take the two products to US and South African markets initially through a joint venture marketing route.“
Ruffage, a dietary fibre supplement in the chewable granule form, is useful for those with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The market-size of Ruffage in the US alone is estimated at around $500 million.
Agarwal says as part of its strategy to globalise its products, Ajanta also plans to license out three of its other key brands - Carofit (anti-oxidant), Ocugold (ocular protection) and Livo Plus (for protection of the liver) - to international drug companies, especially in the US and European countries. It has mandated KPMG to scout for potential marketing partners in US and the Europe regions. The US had patented Carofit and Ocugold earlier.
Negotiations with some potential partners have started and a decision may be made before the end of 2002. Such licensing arrangements typically involve the payment of a lump sum to the brand-owner, besides the royalty inflows. The market-size for Carofit is estimated to be around $300 million. Ocugold contains lutein and zeaxanthin (two natural carotenoids identified in the retina) and is prescribed for ocular protection and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Ajanta has already initiated talks with leading US and South African pharmaceutical companies for forming joint venture companies to market these drugs. Says Ajanta Pharma chief financial officer Arvind K Agarwal: “The US patent office has granted patent rights to Ruffage, while South Africa has patented our anti-arthritis drug Nimlodi. With these patent rights in place, we have decided to take the two products to US and South African markets initially through a joint venture marketing route.“Ruffage, a dietary fibre supplement in the chewable granule form, is useful for those with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The market-size of Ruffage in the US alone is estimated at around $500 million.
Agarwal says as part of its strategy to globalise its products, Ajanta also plans to license out three of its other key brands - Carofit (anti-oxidant), Ocugold (ocular protection) and Livo Plus (for protection of the liver) - to international drug companies, especially in the US and European countries. It has mandated KPMG to scout for potential marketing partners in US and the Europe regions. The US had patented Carofit and Ocugold earlier.
Negotiations with some potential partners have started and a decision may be made before the end of 2002. Such licensing arrangements typically involve the payment of a lump sum to the brand-owner, besides the royalty inflows. The market-size for Carofit is estimated to be around $300 million. Ocugold contains lutein and zeaxanthin (two natural carotenoids identified in the retina) and is prescribed for ocular protection and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
