The Karnataka-based Bal Pharma is all set to further strengthen its operations in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan with its wide range of products. The company has already managed to garner a good presence in the markets of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while in Nepal it has only established a branch office and is yet to commence operations in a big way.
The company offers products like Ebastine, an antihistamine, Levobunolol - sedative / hypnotic, Amiloride HCL (diuretic), Gliclazide (anti-diabetic) and Topiramate (anticonvulsant) in Pakistan. From this year, the company is also marketing Adapalene in the region. The antihistamine drug Ebastine is the fastest growing product in the Pak market, said Shailesh Siroya, managing director, Bal Pharma.
As per available reports, there are about 550 to 650 pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan. Out of it, around 450 to 550 companies fall under the category of active manufacturers, while the rest are marketers. Bal Pharma started operations in the region in 2001.
The Pakistani pharmaceutical market remains beset with difficulties. Strict government control over pricing has made several drugs uneconomical, and as a result a good number of these drugs have become either available only at the black market at inflated prices or disappeared completely, it is learnt.
Drug prices are officially controlled, although the government lacks the capacity to enforce its policies in this area. Some price hike has been allowed since 2000, but the current government shows little sign of enacting any serious reform in the pharmaceutical sector, preferring to allege profiteering on the part of the pharmaceutical industry.
Today demand for antihistamine, neuropathic pain drugs, anti-inflammatory and sedative drugs is on the rise in the Pakistan.
While this market is of great importance for pharma companies in India, there are challenges for companies to trade in the region. The barriers include price sensitivity and poor regulatory infrastructure.
Some of the likely future efforts by the company would be to focus on neuropathic pain and anti-inflammatory segments, Siroya noted.
When it comes to Sri Lanka, Bal Pharma enjoys its presence in both private markets and tender business (for its finished formulations). The company, which started its operations in Sri Lanka in 1998, focuses on anti-diabetic, anti ulcerants and tropical drugs as far as the private market is concerned. In the institutional business sector, Bal Pharma has done a business of about US $1.5 million in the first half of 2008, stated Siroya.
The Sri Lankan pharma market consists of retail pharmacies, government and private hospitals and dispensing doctors and institutions. The retail pharmacies make up about 65 per cent of the total pharmaceutical market. Around 90 per cent of the drugs in Sri Lanka are imported. Out of this, Indian companies account for about 60 per cent of total imports.
The top selling drugs in Lanka comprise of anti ulcerants, antidepressants, calcium antagonists and anti-diabetic like Lipitor and Zocor. However, anti-diabetic drug Metformin, Oral Antibiotic Amoxicillin and Analgesic Paracetamol are the highest selling drugs in the country in terms of volumes.
Unlike any other poor or underdeveloped countries, Sri Lanka has a distinct advantage as far as the pharmaceutical retail market is concerned. It is neither the drug price control nor the essential drug list, but the quintessential network of the state owned trade corporations - State Pharmaceutical Corporation.
"The focus of the company in Lanka will remain to be in the anti-diabetic segment with the launch of sustained release drugs and combination drugs," Siroya said.