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Nithya Subramanian

"The new diagnostic kit will help in early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and is 98 per cent accurate."

New Delhi , Aug. 14

RHEUMATOID arthritis can now be diagnosed early, thanks to a tie-up between the diagnostics division of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and the UK-based Axis-Shield Diagnostics Ltd.

Ranbaxy will be exclusively marketing Axis-Shield's new diagnostic kit for rheumatoid arthritis in India. The international company is the worldwide patent holder for the product.

Mr K.L. Kapoor, Director, Diagnostics, Ranbaxy, told Business Line, "We have been associated earlier with Axis-Shield for a cardiovascular product and this is the second product. Besides general testing kits, the company is involved in the marketing of such niche products." The division supplies to various diagnostic centres, clinics and hospitals.

Dr Anil Vasishta, Divisional Sales & Marketing Director, Axis-Shield, said, "The new diagnostic kit will help in early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and is 98 per cent accurate." In India, about one per cent of the population suffers from this form of arthritis. The company is yet to decide on the price, but internationally the patient has to fork out anything between $65 and $80 (about Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,600).

Axis-Shield also has other new products for testing alcohol-related disorders and Vitamin B-12 deficiency in its portfolio. "We see potential in India for launching the Vitamin B-2 deficiency testing kit and hope to do so shortly," said Dr Vasishta.

At present, the diagnostics business is estimated at Rs 600 crore to Rs 650 crore and Ranbaxy has a 7 per cent market share. It is just 3 per cent of the pharma market compared to the international market where the diagnostics segment has a 10 per cent share.

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