Mumbai based Rusan Pharma Ltd will soon introduce first of its kind indigenous nicotine transdermal patch- 2baconil in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of the country. Rusan Pharma is the only pharma company to manufacture the transdermal patch in India and currently supplies the patch in all metros.
.As of today, Cipla and ITC provide gums while Rusan Pharma provides transdermal patches, in India, as a part of the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Other therapies like inhalers, oral sprays and mouth oral films are available in the global market extensively. Says Dr Kunal Saxena, managing director, Rusan Pharma Ltd, "As an extension to our nicotine replacement therapy, we are planning to enter the gums market to cater to the over Rs.40 crore market in India. 2baconil, being a patient compliant and cost-effective form of therapy, medical fraternity at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) are already using it for their tobacco cessation program. In the future, we intend to participate in the tender process of National Tobacco Cessation Program (NTCP)." The Government has a tobacco cessation programme named NTCP available in 20 states.
Rusan Pharma has set up a helpline to get feedback on the usage of nicotine transdermal patch which has registered over 50,000 customers since the introduction of the therapy in 2014. The nicotine transdermal patch segment has witnessed a turnover of Rs.7 crore in the past one year and the brand 2baconil has been adjudged as Asia's fastest growing brand by World Consulting and Research Corporation (WCRC).
With 270 million Indians addicted to tobacco in one form or the other, nicotine transdermal patches offer a new form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). The new delivery transdermal patch ensures higher patient compliance and ease of use. It is a discreet form of therapy available to patients in dosages of 21 mg, 14 mg, 7 mg for a duration of three months at a cost ranging from Rs.7,400 to Rs.8, 400 based on the severity of the addiction.
According to a study done by Global Adults Tobacco Survey (GATS), 60% of Indians smokers consume tobacco within the first 60 minutes of waking up. Smokers today have also reached an age group of 13 to 15 years according to the WHO, with 8 million global deaths predicted every year by 2030 at current growth rates.
Rusan Pharma Ltd is a fully integrated global pharmaceutical company with interests in research and development, manufacturing and marketing of formulations, APIs and their intermediates. Globally, Rusan is the second largest manufacturer and marketer of oral substitution therapy used for treatment of injecting drug users (IDUs). Rusan is one of the largest suppliers of life saving drugs (de-addiction, pain management and anti-TB drugs) to various organizations/ministries like NACO, UNODC, UNOPS, Global Fund, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice of countries like India, Europe, UK, Russia, CIS, South Africa, Mauritius, Nepal, Myanmar. Since 1994, Rusan has been in the fore-front of making Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) an acceptable form of treatment in India. Rusan has been working closely with various NGOs, funding agencies such as Global fund, DFID and now NACO for scaling up the OST in India.