The Hindu Business Line : Roche gets product patent on Hepatitis C

Swiss-pharma company Roche has received the country's first product patent on its Hepatitis C drug Pegasys. Pegylated interferon alfa-2a or Pegasys involves a technology that reduces the frequency of injections that a patient has to take to one a week, as compared to the earlier practice of three a week.

Confirming the development, Dr G.L.Telang, Managing Director of Roche in India, told Business Line that there were no generic versions of the product in the market.

Pegasys was launched in India in 2003 and the cost to a patient is about Rs 2.25 lakh for six months. Explaining the pricing, Dr Telang said that the total cost included the cost of therapy, testing, monitoring and follow-up, besides the cost of the drug itself. Ribavirin, another medicine used in some cases with Pegasys, is also bundled into this package, he added.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease affecting the liver and is often referred to as a `hidden epidemic', as it takes years before symptoms develop. India has an estimated 10.9 million people suffering from chronic hepatitis C and the illness affects 3 per cent of the world's population, according to data from a healthcare professional.

Roche's pegylated Interferon alpha 2a and Schering-Plough's pegylated Interferon alpha 2b are the two monopolies that exist in the pegylated segment in India, said Mr R. Chandrasekaran, Vice-President-Marketing (Biotech/Oncology), Intas Pharmaceuticals. But the ordinary interferon market has several players, including Intas, for instance. The Interferon 2a market has players such as South Korean company LG Life Sciences and the Hyderabad-based Biological E.

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