India's largest drug maker Sun Pharma began the rollout of its anti-cancer product ‘Gemcitabine InfuSMART’, a ready-to-administer bag for oncology treatment in six European countries.
Talking about the above development and market share for the product Hellen De Kloet, Biz Head-Western Europe & ANZ, Sun Pharma said the launch will start in the UK and the Netherlands because these are the first two countries in Europe where we have final approval.
She said it would be difficult to estimate the revenue potential as of now but expects the market to switch to the ready-to-administer bag in two-three years.
Below is the transcript of her interview with CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra and Nigel D’Souza
Q: Can you tell us how much this new launch will be in terms of revenue potential?
A: That's difficult to estimate because currently there are no cytotoxic products available in the ready to use bag. But potentially 60-80 percent of the Gemcitabine market could switch to this bag. So that is quite a high potential and the bag has so many advantages. It eliminates the risk of those calculation errors, you don't need to do a compounding step and there's no human intervention. So, it's also safer for the technicians who will compound the drug. Therefore, there are many, many advantages to use Infusmart.
Q: What kind of market size are you expecting when you say 60-80 percent of the market can shift, by when?
A: I think the market will shift within two to three years. Europe, most of it is a tender market so it will take some time before people eventually can switch. In Dollar terms, it is very difficult to estimate. But we will price it competitively and we assume a relatively high market share for this product.
Q: When is the launch expected and how much will be invested?
A: The launches will start in the UK and the Netherlands because these are the first two countries in Europe where we have final approval. The other countries will follow later this year and the launch will actually start this month in both countries.
Q: Does the company have a patent on this particular technology and in that context what is the competitive environment?
A: It is patented.
Q: What is the kind of expansion planned beyond Europe - other developed markets such as us? Is the distribution plan ready to launch?
A: Right now, the focus is to rollout Infusmart in Europe and to learn from that. Of course we are constantly evaluating to expand. Because it is a global development, to expand the product to other markets including the US will be the second stage.
Q: What are the other kind of products in the research and development pipeline that we can expect for Europe?
A: Major difficulty is the stability in the bags so for now we have selected 5 products which are stable enough to develop in the bag and we expect them within the next three years to get them launched in Europe and potentially in other regions as well.
Q: Are you planning to expand this line with other drugs, take us through the planned investment?
A: I cannot give you any comments on that.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
