The Karnataka-based pharma company Micro Labs's anti pyretic brand Dolo 650 has been adjudged as the best managed brand of the year. In a case study contest organized by C MARC, a market research agency, during the Convocation and Foundation Day of the Institute of Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Management and Research (IPHMR) at Kolkata held recently, Micro Labs' Praveen Singh, general manager (Products), made a presentation for the contest.

Under the Product Life Cycle (PLC) category, out of the 13 brands registered, three were selected by the panel for presentation. Micro Labs figured in the finals and won the honours. The award was given away by Prof L K Maheshwari, Former Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani.

Dolo 650 is a leading brand in the anti pyretic space. While its active content paracetamol is a century-old molecule, Dolo has been a well recognized brand for the last two decades. The brand, launched in early 90s, has moved up in product ranking from 257 in 2007 to 209 in 2010. According to the IMS Secondary Sales Audit Report for October, 2010 Dolo has been in the market along with over 16,000 products in retail sales. It is currently valued at Rs.31.5 crore with a whopping 25 percent rise in sales over last year. Today, it is one of the fastest growing brands in the country. Even in prescription terms as per IMS Prescription Audit, the brand has made is currently ranked 12th in the industry.

The key success factors which have been identified for the brand's progress since its launch are its identity, promotion strategies titled 'Dhol Bajake Bolo Dolo and 'Dolo Se Kismat Kholo'. In addition, the company has also adopted an aggressive approach to market the brand with a sales force driven by passion to succeed. This was also supported by an excellent distribution by the pharmacy trade, stated G Jairaj, senior vice president, marketing, Micro Labs.

Other qualitative aspects which have helped the brand emerge as a leader in the segment is the special focus on conducting a series of Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes on 'Pyrexia of unknown origin' under the Micro Knowledge Academy.