Dr. Alex Saunders, a US-based scientist and diabetes expert says that only 0.1- 0.3 per cent of diabetic population in India use sugar level monitoring instruments like glucometers compared to about 33 per cent in US. According to him, the market for such metres in the country is really virgin and lucrative for the companies to tap.

The firms which are marketing glucometres agree with him and to cash in on the profitable market, players like Roche Diagnostics, Johnson & Johnson, and Nicholas Piramal have planned aggressive marketing and promotional campaigns with hospitals, doctors and patients across the country to promote their brands.

Glucometres are electronic instruments that could measure and record sugar levels in the blood samples of diabetic patients.

According to a survey conducted by Nicholas Piramal, the current market for glucometres in the country is Rs 106 crore, which is estimated to grow at a rate of 30 per cent per annum. Volume wise, about 100,000 glucometres get sold every year according to LifeScan, the diagnostics division of Johnson & Johnson.

"As per our estimates, glucometre market is expected to cross Rs 139 crore in 2005 and Rs 183 crore in 2006," said George Varghese, senior vice president, diagnostics, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL). NPIL imports its glucometers from the UK-based Medisys.

Major distributors of glucometers in the country include Roche, J&J, Nicholas Piramal, Bayer, Abbott, USV, Ashish Healthcare, Zydus Cadila, and Pulsatum. Besides, there are several distributors marketing cheap Chinese made metres in the country.

Roche controls about 46 per cent of the total glucometre market in the country followed by J&J with 36 per cent. The other players take care of rest of the market, said sources.

The glucometres available in the country are priced between Rs 1500-Rs 3,000 (per piece). These devices come in the size of a mobile phone and a diabetic can measure his sugar level in the comfort of his home or while he is travelling.

Glucose measuring strips (like litmus) come along with the metres. Blood sample has to be spotted on the strip, which is inserted into the meter, which gives reading. On an average, a strip is priced at Rs 22 per piece.

All the companies mentioned above market metres based on amperometry and reflectance photometry. The former is priced higher on account of advanced technology.

"Our customers consist of diabetics, hospitals and doctors. Hospitals purchase 41 per cent, doctors 22 per cent and diabetics 37 per cent of our total metres," said Varghese.

NPIL's amperometry-based device (Advance) is priced at Rs 2,950 per piece, Roche has priced its metre (Accucheck) at Rs 2,400 and J&J (One Touch Horizon) at Rs 1,500.

During early 2004, majority of the companies including Roche Diagnostics and J&J, reduced prices of their metres by about 50 per cent. This was in effect to a cut in import duty by the Union Government from 14.54 per cent to 5.15 per cent in budget 2004, besides the emerging competition from local companies.

The current diabetic population in the country is estimated at about 3.2 crore, as per the latest WHO statistics.