The Hindu Business Line : As Diclofenac ban kicks in, Asian vultures can rest easy

New drug
In May, the Drug Controller General of India had issued a directive to phase out veterinary Diclofenac and replace it with Meloxicam in three months. With the three-month period ending Friday, conservationists said that Meloxicam-makers were entering the market.

Mumbai , Aug. 11

With the Centre's ban on veterinary Diclofenac coming into effect on Friday, conservationists are optimistic that the first tentative steps have been taken towards bringing the Asian Vulture back from the brink of extinction.

The axe had fallen on the veterinary drug, as experts observed that its use in livestock had an indirect side-effect on vultures. Diclofenac is used as an anti-inflammatory drug in cattle. But vultures die when they ingest the drug after feeding on the carcass. And over a period of 10 years, veterinary Diclofenac had drastically reduced the numbers of the Asian vulture, experts said.

In May, the Drug Controller General of India had issued a directive to phase out veterinary Diclofenac and replace it with Meloxicam in three months. With the three-month period ending Friday, conservationists told Business Line that Meloxicam-makers were entering the market.

There are "comfortable" numbers of drug-makers producing Meloxicam. Initial concerns over the high price of Meloxicam have been allayed with more companies entering the market, said Ms Nita Shah, a biologist with the Bombay Natural History Society's (BNHS) vulture-advocacy programme.

Price drop

In the past four months, the price of Meloxicam has fallen, she said. Veterinary Diclofenac is an estimated Rs 20-crore market in India, with about 25 players. The challenge is in getting them to make Meloxicam, an ornithologist said.

Some of the Meloxicam versions already in the market or in the process of being launched include Alembic's Diclovet M, Zydus Cadila's Zobid and Oik, Vetcare's Melox and Intas' Melonex, said Ms Shah.

Recently, Nepalese veterinary drug-maker Medivet stopped making Diclofenac and started producing Meloxicam, with the intent of saving the vultures, a note on the development said. Melox from Medivet was launched as an oral capsule and an injectible version is being planned.

As drug controllers in India set about implementing the Centre's ban on Diclofenac, Ms Shah denies any drug lobby hand in the ban. "No one brand is being promoted. Only the generic version of the drug is being suggested. Besides, even the replacement drug will be monitored for its usage and the bouncing back of the species," she said.