Drug-maker Ind-Swift Ltd has tied-up with Roche Diagnostics to locally distribute the latter's kit to detect heart-attacks through a blood-test.
Roche Diagnostics' TROP T rapid assay is a point-of-care test that helps differentiate between a heart-attack and a non-cardiac chest pain. Troponin –T is used to measure damage to the heart muscle and to differentiate between non-cardiac chest pains and heart attacks. It gives a qualitative result within 15 minutes.
The kit that will be promoted by Ind-Swift to general and consulting physicians and specialists such as cardiologists and diabetic specialists, will be sold at less than Rs 2,000 per kit, said Dr G. Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Ind-Swift Group.
Distribution
Ind-Swift expects to sell about two lakh units a year, adding revenues of Rs 25 crore on the new product in-licensed from Roche, in its first year, he added. The Chandigarh-based Ind-Swift has a cardio-specific filed force that has been promoting cardio and anti-diabetic products for about a decade.
The Roche product will be promoted across the country through Ind-Swift's 225-strong field force, he said. The country is estimated to have about 6,500 cardiologists.
Underlining the importance of Troponin –T, Dr Bhuwnesh Agrawal, Chairman and Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics (India and South Asia), explained that the molecule helped redefine a heart attack about 12 years ago. If the person is not having a heart attack, there is little or no presence of Troponin –T in the blood, he said.
Using this parameter to assess whether a person is experiencing a heart attack is a standardised procedure, he said, adding that there were guidelines on how to follow-through with the patient depending on the outcome of the test.
The company is in talks with the Government, he said, if the test could be adopted for testing in rural areas, he added.