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Glenmark launches 'Milieus' division in Karnataka targeting GPs

Our Bureau, BangaloreThursday, December 28, 2006, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd has launched its Milieus division in Karnataka to focus exclusively at General Practitioners and Family Physicians in metros, non-metros and rural areas in the country. The products marketed by Milieus are Gold Standard molecules, backed by world-class technology and research, at affordable prices. Karnataka accounts for 5.8 per cent of Glenmark's sales in India. According to company, 'Milieu' stands for 'the social environment we live in' and it aims to bridge the price chasm that has arisen post January 1, 2005 due to the slow development and limited access of masses to public health infrastructure. The Indian pharmaceutical market is worth Rs. 26,778 crore. There are around five lakh doctors in India and the GPs constitute 60 per cent of that. GPs are the first point of contact for patients and also enjoy a personal rapport. They prefer to prescribe Gold Standard (old, known and reliable) molecules, which are affordable to their patients. Milieus' range of products targets a range of therapy segments like anti-infective, cough and cold, analgesics and anti-inflammatory, and gastroenterology. These products will be low priced so as to make them affordable to the masses in urban as well as rural areas. Glenmark is able to offer these products at affordable prices because of its world class API and formulation research and manufacturing facilities,. Through Milieus GPs can also look forward to regular scientific updates through mailers, handouts and organised group activities, including continuing medical education meets. A Milieus was first launched in India in April 2005 and is presently being launched across the country in phases: In its phase I , it was introduced in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. phase II covered Tamil Nadu and for phase III it included Karnataka and West Bengal. Karantaka is the tenth largest pharmaceutical market in the country and it is growing at 12.2 per cent. It contributes 5 per cent of the total Indian pharmaceutical market at Rs 1,350 crore. Besides Milieus, Glenmark has eight other specialised divisions, namely, Glenmark, Majesta, Gracewell, Intergrace, Healtheon, Zoltan, Onkos and Institutions which interact with Consultants across several therapy fields which include Dermatology, Respiratory, Gynaecology, Gastroenterology, ENT, Paediatrics and Oncology. In the Indian pharmaceutical industry, Glenmark is amongst the top three players in Dermatology. Candid-B, Ascoril and Altacef, three of Glenmark's top-selling brands, are leaders in their individual therapeutic segments. Glenmark is a leader in the discovery of new molecules and is focused in the areas of inflammation (Asthma/COPD, etc) and metabolic disorders (Diabetes, Obesity, etc). Glenmark's first Asthma/COPD molecule, Oglemilast (GRC 3886), was licensed out to Forest Laboratories and Teijin Pharma Limited for the North American and Japanese markets, respectively, in two landmark deals. Oglemilast is presently undergoing phase II clinical trials in the US. The company's second lead GRC 8200, a DPP-IV inhibitor for type II diabetes, is in phase II clinical trials in South Africa and India. It was recently out-licensed to Merck KGaA, Germany for the North American, European and Japanese markets. A third molecule targeting pain, GRC 6211, recently entered phase I clinical trials in Europe. Glenmark has three other programmes across obesity, inflammation and pain management at the pre-clinical stages; two of which will enter the clinics in FY 2007.

 
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