Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 16, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 16, 2004 |
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Corporate
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Outlook `Outsourcing of key functions to continue' — Novo Nordisk rules out manufacturing base Madhumathi D.S.
Mr Lars Rebein Sorensen
Bangalore , April 15 NOVO Nordisk has been in the country for 10 years but is in no hurry to change the way it operates here: largely through `outsourcing' its key India functions, including the manufacture of its insulin. At a time when many MNCs are looking at India as a manufacturing base, Novo Nordisk has no such plans at all, said its President and CEO, Mr Lars Rebien Sorensen. "We do have some good local partnerships and I don't see any imminent need to change (this strategy)," Mr Sorensen told Business Line. The fully owned subsidiary of the $ 4.5-billion Danish giant has active tie-ups with Torrent Pharmaceuticals for manufacturing its insulin; Abbott for distribution and research collaboration with Dr. Reddy's Labs and at one time with the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow. "We are also looking at developing new relationships and trying to identify areas in which we can find innovation; and to what extent we can source value addition," Mr Sorensen, who was on a short visit to the Novo India's Bangalore HQ, said. Just as many successful companies prefer "to source part of their value from here and part from there," four ad-hoc IT functions are coming out of India, including Web designing. According to Mr Sorensen, the scope is so wide that there might come a time when it may have its patents written, clinical data recorded and managed out of here. As the world's largest generic insulin maker, he said, Novo would welcome healthy competition from emerging domestic players. For even with the huge number of diabetics, Mr Sorensen said the domestic market is still untapped as 70 per cent of diabetics remain undiagnosed and 15 per cent do not get the right treatment. And having dropped prices by 25 per cent last year, it wouldn't revisit the pricing issue for now. A nation of over 30 million diabetics is probably the best bet for those in the insulin and anti-diabetics line. Novo has just begun phase 3 clinical trials in India and other countries for Levemir, an insulin analogue and one of its key products. Liraglutide, a GLP-1 analogue, may shortly be entering trials too. "We are able to quickly recruit patients in India than anywhere and generate high quality data. There is a great opportunity in this country for clinical trials," he said. Its novel inhaler insulin, AERx, however, is not meant for India because of its cost. Its trials are confined to the US, Europe and Australia. Novo has completed phase 2 trials of Balaglitazone, the insulin sensitiser molecule it licensed from Dr Reddy's, and is waiting to put it through phase 3. On new investments in the country, Mr Sanjeev Shishoo, MD, Novo Nordisk India, said therapy and diabetes awareness programmes take up considerable sums for the company. "We were also the first to invest in collaborative research with the CDRI in 1990 on royalty basis long before anyone else did so." Mr Sorensen said many of the marketing practices and programmes of the 350-strong Novo India were a model for other centres.
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