Wanbury Ltd, one of the fastest growing pharma companies in the domestic market, has launched its New Drug Delivery System (NDDS) product Nitrofur SR (Nitrofurantoin-100mg, sustained release) targeted at Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), for the first time in India. Wanbury is the third company in India to have entered the unexplored market of Nitrofurantoin.
The molecule Nitrofurantoin, is highly effective in the treatment of urinary tract infection. However, since the available brands are of the instant release (IR) category and have to be taken by the patient four times a day, users suffer from side-effects like gastro-intestinal irritation and burning sensation, leading to poor patient compliance.
"Wanbury's Nitrofur SR, due to its unique Hydrophilic Polymer Matrix or HPM (NDDS) technology, makes it a once-a-day, sustained release product. It is highly effective, compared to instant release formulations and is without any side-effects," said Dr Rajaram Samant, director - Marketing & Sales, Wanbury. Nitrofur SR is also proved to be safe, when taken during pregnancy and has been endorsed by authorities like World Health Organisation (WHO), US FDA, American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG), he said.
According to industry estimates, the size of the UTI market in India is about Rs 1200 crore, annually growing at 14 per cent. It's alarming that in India, over 28 per cent of the women visiting gynaecologists suffer from UTI.
"We will be targeting this 28 per cent population. We plan Nitrofur SR sales of Rs 10 crore in the first year of the launch and hope to capture a substantial share of the UTI market in the next three years," said Dr Samant.
Wanbury will be marketing the product with leading gynaecologists and urologists in the country.
Wanbury is acknowledged for its strong Gynaec portfolio with brands like Cpink and Folinine. Gynaecologists treating UTI are currently not satisfied with available UTI antibiotics in the market. This provides an edge for Wanbury to carve a niche in the market as Nitrofur SR adds strong value to existing array of products.
Wanbury ranks 52nd as per ORG-IMS and is growing at 87 per cent. Wanbury has successful track record of brand launches as its products are need based with unique advantage catering to needs of the patients. In view of the above fact 4 of the Company's products viz. Cpink, Rabiplus, Folinine and Adtrol are in the 'Top 3' brands in respective segments.
At Wanbury, its corporate philosophy to support social causes is followed to the word. Recently, the Company supported a noble cause - National Eclampsia Registry project initiated by Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) & the Indian College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (ICOG). Eclampsia is hypertension during pregnancy, which leads to convulsions and may lead to the death of the mother as well as the child. Wanbury has provided the platform to more than 20,000 gynaec doctors all over India to discuss issues related to Eclampsia.