Zandu has six more products in pipeline

Ananth Iyer
11 February 2000

Zandu Pharmaceutical Works, the Mumbai-based ayurvedic drug manufacturing company, has six more products in the pipeline, as promising as HP-200, its anti-Parkinson drug.  The company has generated extensive data on pharmacology, phytochemistry and standardisation for all six products.

The products fall into therapeutic areas of analgesics, pain management, and gastroenterology.

However, Zandu is planning a slightly different approach for these products in overseas markets. Though the company plans to carry extensive clinical trials for all six products, it will position them as health products instead of prescription-based drugs.

Health products are a new concept evolving in the US and Western European countries. They are placed in between prescription medicines and nutraceuticals or other over-the-counter products.

Dr Ashok Vaidya, director, Zandu, says health products, unlike nutraceuticals, can be prescribed by doctors and at the same time can be categorised as OTC products. Unlike nutraceuticals, the products are backed by clinical evidence and offer specific claims.

For the present, Zandu's efforts are directed towards HP-200, a drug for Parkinson's disease. Zandu has obtained an investigational new drug approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. CMI India Pvt Ltd will carry out clinical development of HP-200.