A look at how Cipla is trying to consolidate its position in respiratory segment

Huge Opportunity

Cipla sells a range of products including pills, nasal sprays and inhalers to treat respiratory diseases, constituting about 25 percent of its Rs 5867 crore domestic sales in FY18.

During FY18, the overall revenue from respiratory unit stood at Rs 1,464 crore, much of it from inhalers growing at 10 percent above industry growth rate of 8 percent.

Cipla already enjoys two-thirds of the market share of the respiratory drugs market.

But it isn't content, as it wants to more than double the sales of its inhalation segment less than next five years.

This growth is only contingent on putting new patients on inhalers. That so far proved to be tough due to lack of awareness and stigma associated with using inhalers.

For instance, only 25 people out every 100 suffering from asthma use inhalers in India.

The rest pop-up pills orally such as corticosteroids and bronchodilators to get relief, and discontinue them once they feel normal.

In US and Europe, inhalers have replaced tablets and syrups for treating asthma.

"Inhalation therapy is the most effective and safer medication for any asthmatic patient compared to oral therapies like tablets and syrups," said Dr. Jaideep A. Gogtay serves as Medical Director of Cipla

Gogtay added that in inhalation therapy, the drug acts directly in the lungs instead of flowing through the bloodstream and other organs of the body. Thus, there is lesser drug required and hence fewer side effects.

"Inhalers not just offer relief to the patient, but they also prevent asthma attacks," Gogtay said.

Expanding the market

While there has been an astounding rise in the level of environmental pollution worldwide together with phenomenal rise in the number of smokers and tobacco consumers., but lack of diagnosis and access to right treatment is posing challenge.

Chronic respiratory diseases are the second leading cause of deaths in India after heart disease, according to  the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016, published by Lancet.

Around 10·9 percent of Indians die due to lung diseases, and 6·4 percent are living with  disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) in India in 2016

Gogtay feels that most of those deaths are preventable if the diseases are diagnosed in time and correct treatment is prescribed.

Cipla is also running another massive patient activation programme called Breathefree. Through this the company conducts awareness programmes through camps, clinics and screenings and so far reached out to over 2 million patients.

The company has tied-up with Apollo Pharmacy to extend patient support. The Apollo Pharmacy outlets will add to the existing Breathefree Chemist network of 4,000 as support points across the country.

Cipla has also joined hands with the Chest Research Foundation to
launch certificate course in obstructive airway diseases.

This programme sets new standards in respiratory counselling and care, and has helped to provide advanced skills to over 400 Breathefree educators.