MSD Pharma eyes slot among top five firms

MSD Pharmaceuticals, the wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based multinational drug company Merck, has chartered an ambitious growth plan to emerge as one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in India.

"Our focus will be exclusively on patented products that will be made available for India and will continuously invest in the coming years. These will be need-based investments in manufacturing, research and development centre and other infrastructure," said Naveen A Rao, managing director, MSD India.

He said Merck has identified India, along with China and Korea, as a major growth centre for the company in the future.

So far, the company has launched speciality drugs for critical care, metabolic disorders and vaccines.

The company intends to launch a product from the parent stable every six months and these will include drugs for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and novel vaccines, Rao said.

The Merck subsidiary has plans to step up its research and clinical trial programmes in India, mainly in association with hospitals and universities.

Merck had in the recent past signed a few major drug research programmes with Indian companies such as Advinus Therapeutics, Orchid and Piramal Healthcare.

However, Rao declined to reveal the amount Merck would invest in its Indian subsidiary. Merck has presence worldwide and its 2007 sales were to the tune of $24.2 billion.

The drugs in the pipeline for India will include Cozaar for hypertension, Januvia for type-II diabetes, Singulair, an oral drug for the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis, and cholesterol-lowering drugs Vytorin and Zetia.

Last week, MSD had launched Gardasil, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts caused by human pailoma virus.

Rao said as a matter of policy, the company would not divulge information on how many of these products are awaiting patent in India.

He said the company has an understanding with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create infrastructure and assistance in vaccinating Indian women with Gardasil.

Soon, the Indian Council for Medical Research will initiate a six-month study on the vaccine over the possibility of including it in the national vaccination programme.

MSD, which opened its office in India in 2005, has increased its head count from 80 people to 800.