Win Medicare Ltd is all set to market the dermatology range of products of Denmark-based Leo Pharma. The company will start with marketing of Daivonex, the anti-psoriatic drug of Leo Pharma, following which it will launch more products for conditions like dermatitis and acne.

Earlier, Ranbaxy was marketing Daivonex in the country. After its tie up with Ranbaxy ended in December 2003, Leo Pharma found its new marketing partner in Win Medicare.

As per the agreement, Daivonex will be imported from Denmark and is priced at Rs. 850 for a 20 gm tube. In its first year of launch in India, the company is expecting a turnover of Rs. 4 crore from the product, informed Surjit S. Aurora, vice president, sales & marketing, Win Medicare.

In Daivonex active ingredient is calcipotriol, a vitamin D analogue. Vitamin D analogues affect psoriasis by reducing keratinocyte proliferation and by their immunomodulatory effect on T-cells. The vitamin D analogues act by binding to the vitamin D receptors expressed in variety of different cell types in the skin including keratinocytes and T-cells. The compounds have a low effect on calcium metabolism as compared to native vitamin D. This prevents any serious side effects using such analogues.

Win Medicare is the marketing subsidiary of Modi-Mundi Pharma, a joint venture between a joint venture between the UK Modi Group and Mundipharma AG of Switzerland. Co-marketing is a key thrust area for the company. Recently it tied up with Finland-based Orion Pharma in order to launch the latter's hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs in India by June 2004. The company is also marketing Merz Germany's patented anti-scar gel Contractubex in the country.

Leo Pharmaceuticals is an independent company in Denmark promoted by the Leo Foundation. Dermatology, critical care, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-infectives are the thrust areas in the company's R&D.