Cipla chairman Dr Yusuf Hamied on how the govt has to co-operate to allow for their Antiflu drug, now exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, to be sold in India
Cipla chairman Dr Yusuf Hamied on how the govt has to co-operate to allow for their Antiflu drug, now exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, to be sold in India
At the annual general meeting for Cipla last week, chairman Dr Yusuf Hamied was the picture of congeniality as he answered shareholder queries, joking and smiling all the while. However, it's no laughing matter when discussions finally come to the present H1N1 epidemic in the country that has so far consumed nine lives in the city.
Cipla is currently at capacity to produce over a million units of oseltamivir as Antiflu and zanamivir as Virenza in six weeks if the local authorities require the same, but production of the drug has only been for export so far. Dr Hamied only shrugs when asked why Indian manufacturers aren't being allowed to distribute oseltamivir locally, when the government is now spending to import the drug under the brand of Tamiflu from the global
pharmaceutical Roche. Excerpts from his conversation with Sunday MiD DAY:
How much oseltamivir have you sold so far and when are Indian retailers getting hold of Antiflu?
To date, we've sold more than Rs 40 crore worth of Antiflu and Virenza to governments in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. About your other question, the Indian government would be better poised to answer it. We are ready to co-operate with the local authorities in every manner and we truly believe that by making the drug accessible, we will reduce panic. The problem is so widespread and complex that it needs the co-operation of one and all.
But won't the widespread availability of the drug have the opposite effect?
We're all adults and we deserve to be treated like that by the government. Make the drug accessible and available only with a prescription. If we can sell morphine and codeine with a doctor's note, why can't we take responsibility for ourselves with anti-viral medication?
I've been shuttling between India and the United Kingdom for the last few months and whilst there's a situation of sheer panic here, the scenario's quite the opposite there even though the toll and extent of the pandemic has been more in the UK. This is because there is a sense of comfort that if I am ill, my pharmacist, my doctor and my local hospital has the drug and I will be treated and will get better. The situation here however is fraught with uncertainty. Only a few government hospitals are authorised to dispense the medication and when accessibility is restricted, panic increases.
One argument is that local companies in Third World countries are not equipped enough to handle the manufacture and distribution of the drugs to treat the H1N1 epidemic.
What capacity requirements are they talking about? When the SARS epidemic was on in 2005 and 2006, we were producing the medication to treat the condition but the demand was limited and we lost 15 million dollars in the process. Capacities depend on demand levels and at the moment, our demands are export requirements and not local needs. Moreover, Cipla has 7,000 valid product registration in nearly 180 countries and 30 manufacturing units in the country. Once we're required to do so, there certainly is no question that we'll be able to provide the government the drugs they need.
Earlier reports have mentioned that the price of Antiflu is nearly 100 per cent less than your competitors.
You have to understand the concept of tiered pricing and the fact that the price of the drug will differ from country to country. I'm not in a position to comment on the pricing of any other drug except our own. As for Antiflu, we are selling it at a price in view of the competitors in the market right now. It's part of our predatory pricing policies. What we are against, however, is a monopolistic hold over markets where price is dictated by one player alone.
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