The Hindu Business Line : Merz Pharma to launch drug for Alzheimer's dementia

ONCE the product patent regime is in place, Germany's Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH is planning to increase its presence in India by launching new products.

And on the horizon is a drug used for treating moderate to severe Alzheimer's dementia.

Mr Hans-Joachim Weber, Area Director International, Merz, told Business Line, "Our brand Axura (memantine) is the only product that has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration as well as from the European regulatory body." The company will be filing for approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) next year.

Merz currently has alliance with the UK Modi Group's Win-Medicare Pvt Ltd. The Indian company will be responsible for marketing this drug as well. Mr Surjit S. Aurora, Vice-President - Marketing and Sales, Win-Medicare, said, "Once the product patent is in place, we will file for approvals for this drug. We hope to launch it within a year." Currently the market for moderate to severe Alzheimer's dementia is largely untapped with Sun Pharma recently launching its own product. "We expect the market to grow from the existing Rs 20 crore to about Rs 150 crore in the next three years," Mr Aurora added.

Besides this, Merz is also planning to launch some of its over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in India. These include Mederma, a scar reducing ointment and Pantogar, used for management of hair loss among women. "However, the OTC drugs would be available in India only through the ethical route," said Mr Aurora. Apart from these, Win-Medicare is already marketing Hepamerz (a drug for hepatitis) and Contractupex - another ointment for scars in India.

Mr Weber said that India is an important market for Merz as the company has witnessed healthy growth rates here. "We have seen very high growth rates here and, therefore, we will try and increase our presence here," he said.

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