Anti-gastric drugs dominate pharma market

Anti-gastric drugs are surprisingly ruling the country’s pharmaceutical market due mainly to consumption of adulterated foods and lack of discipline in eating habits, physicians and drug-makers said.
The drugs for treatment of gastric and ulcer have occupied the top three positions in terms of sales turnover in fiscal 2008-09, according to IMS, a US-based drug research organisation.
Seclo of Square, NeoceptinR of Beximco and Neotac of Square emerged as the leading anti gastric and ulcer medicines in the last fiscal year, with their combined sales stood at Tk 1.81 billion.
Square’s Seclo, an anti-ulcerant, alone had market share worth Tk 740 million in 2008-09.
The IMS statistics showed the market size for the anti gastric and ulcer drugs in Bangladesh is worth Tk 6.85 billion and it is growing on an average 15 per cent annually.
It said the gastric drugs have occupied eighth position out of top 20 drug products in the country.
“The eight anti-gastric products have market size worth Tk 3.40 billion a year, around 50 per cent of top 20 leading drugs,” said an official at the IMS.
Pantonix of Incepta, Losechtil of Eskayef, Ranitid of Opsonin, Zeldrin of ACI and Entacid plus of Square are other anti-gastric drugs, which have joined the list of top 20 drugs.
However, five molecules used to produce anti-ulcerant and gastric drugs are developing fast. The market of omeprazole group stands at Tk 2.93 billion and it is growing on an average of 15 per cent.
Ranitidine, comparatively an old molecule, has a market size worth Tk 2.15 billion. It is growing at 2.5 per cent per annum.
Pautoprazole molecule has small market share of Tk 730 million a year and its growth rate is 26 per cent.
Esomeprazole, a new molecule being used in anti-ulcerant drugs, has Tk 710 million worth of market and is growing on an average of 44 per cent.
Rabeprazole molecule, which is growing at 89 per cent annually, has a market share of Tk 140 million.
Khan Mohammed Abul Kalam Azad, an expert on medicine at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said the country’s 12 per cent population are suffering from peptic ulcer and 12 per cent have other stomach related diseases.
“Besides, 30 per cent patients require taking anti-gastric and anti-ulcer drugs as a supplement to other drugs,” he told the FE.
“We even over-used this type of drugs, sometimes without physician’s advice. It is one of the reasons behind this surge.”
He said consuming adulterated foods and eating habits are also contributing to widespread use of such drugs in the country.
Nazmul Hassan, chief executive officer of Beximco, told the FE: “The use of anti-ulcer drugs has outnumbered the use of anti- biotic medicines in recent years.”
Around 250 companies are producing drugs in the country and their annual market size is worth Tk 51.26 billion, which is growing at 18 per cent annually.

Courtesy of The Financial Express