Bayer News: Bayer’s consumer health unit plans to step up India play

The patron well being division of Bayer is betting huge on India. The Basel-headquartered drug maker plans to convey extra over-the-counter (non-prescription) merchandise particular to Indian shopper wants from its world portfolio and launch extra line-extensions of its high manufacturers equivalent to Saridon and Supradyn.

In an interview to ET, Sandeep Verma, nation head, India, Bayer shopper well being division in India, mentioned the corporate will use its world experience to launch new codecs equivalent to effervescent tablets, topicals and sprays and develop its distribution footprint from 5.5 lakh pharmacies to 10 lakh by 2026, moreover launching advertising and marketing campaigns to energise the manufacturers.

Bayer launched its shopper well being division in India in June final yr with the relaunch of age-old ache aid model Saridon in new packaging.

The corporate launched a brand new formulation referred to as Saridon Advance with greater paracetamol dosage at 650 mg. The corporate additionally relaunched Supradyn – its largest multivitamin model in new formulations. Within the dermatology house, the corporate just lately launched anti-fungal cream Canesten. Bayer additionally sells different manufacturers equivalent to anti-allergy drugs Alaspan (loratadine), Bayer Tonic, Becozym C Forte, Benadon and others.

Bayer’s resolution to launch shopper well being enterprise in India comes at a time when some multinational pharmaceutical friends have reduce their publicity. Earlier, Sanofi bought its legacy antimicrobial pores and skin cream Soframycin, whereas

reduce its publicity by signing gross sales and distribution pact with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for its ache aid model Voveran and calcium vary that features Calcium Sandoz and Methergine in India. Each Saridon and Supradyn have been licensed to Piramal Group up to now, however transitioned again to Bayer’s new shopper well being division on the finish of the licensing settlement time period. Piramal nonetheless distributes these merchandise in India.

“India shopper well being house could be very nascent and small, however remains to be amongst high 10 markets; it’s truly quantity 8 now however with the sort of development charges in India, greater than many different nations,” Verma mentioned.

“Bayer shopper well being discovered that India would truly grow to be a top-4 market globally within the subsequent 7-8 years. Now, it’s most likely going to occur a lot sooner after Covid. Look, if you must grow to be a giant participant within the shopper well being house, there isn’t any method that we are able to ignore India…that is after we need to guarantee entry to all Bayer’s world experience to the Indian shopper,” Verma added. Client well being in India, excluding Ayurveda, is about ₹4 billion ($4.3 billion), and the penetration ranges are in single digits, Verma mentioned.