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Modern Pharmaceuticals
June 2010
EDITORIAL
A paradigm shift t seems the next logical phase of consolidation post-slowdown is beginning to set in. With global mergers and acquisitions back in motion, this could be an inflection point not only for the pharma space in India but also for us at ‘Modern Pharmaceuticals’. As the economy gears up to ride on the fresh wave of investments and capex plans, here is our attempt to further boost the content offerings. Along with more rich and varied information, we endeavour to make the edit sections more reader-friendly. Suffice to say, your feedback on this is most welcome and will help us in serving you even better. The pharma retail market in the country, of late, is seeing plenty of action. Growing at an impressive rate of 15 per cent per annum, it is estimated to double in the next five years over its current size of Rs 33,000 crore and this excludes the Ayurvedic market. Though at present the organised pharma retail segment contributes miniscule portion towards this sector, the scenario is likely to change aided by a greater degree of maturity of the former. A significant trend seen here entails many organised players going that extra mile and providing better facilities & services to
i
the customers. These are personalised care, customer loyalty programmes, membership with different discount, incentive schemes, among others. However, some of the challenges before this industry include elusive profits, availability of competent & dedicated staff as pharmacists & store helpers, ascertaining differentiating factors towards customer attraction and retention, etc. For a detailed perspective on the emerging scenario, turn to ‘Sector Watch’. On a different note, there seems to be a shift in the focus of the people from disease treatment to disease prevention. This is leading to search for relatively safer and effective options like alternative medicines. Herbal medicines, in particular, have huge scope in the therapeutic segments where modern medicine faces limitations. The ‘Market Trends’ analyses the inherent pros & cons and offers some of the latest insights into this domain.
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Editor: Manas R Bastia
June 2010
Modern Pharmaceuticals
7
CONTENTS
22
36
F E AT URE S 30
LEADERS SPEAK “The OTC and nutraceutical sector show promise in a nation with a population of about one billion” ...says Dr Swati Piramal, Director, Piramal Healthcare Ltd and Vice Chairperson, Piramal Life Sciences
ROUNDTABLE Marketing practices in pharma: Need for a modified approach?
26
40
SECTOR WATCH Pharma retailing in India: Opening new growth frontiers
MARKET TRENDS Alternative medicines: Towards personalised treatment
BIOTECHNOLOGY
42
46
REGULAR SECTIONS Editorial ............................................................... 7
Biomedical instruments: For a better tomorrow Sanjeev Saxena Chairman & CEO, Actis Biologics
RETAIL ZONE Disease management: The next big thing in pharma retail Rajendra Pratap Gupta International Retail & Healthcare Expert
National News................................................... 10
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
World News....................................................... 16
Pharma R&D: In pursuit of excellence Courtesy: GBI Research
Tech Updates ..................................................... 20 Events Calendar ................................................ 50
TECHNOFOCUS
Book Shelf ......................................................... 54
Lean manufacturing: Way to eliminate waste and enhance quality Stephen Russell-Hill Vice President - Liquids Division, Quadro Engineering
Fresh Arrivals .................................................... 56
CURTAIN RAISER
Product Update................................................. 58
ARC’s Eighth India Forum: Platform to drive business excellence
Technology Transfer ......................................... 52
Product Inquiry ................................................ 67 Advertisement Inquiry ..................................... 69 Product Index ................................................... 71 Advertisers’ List................................................. 72
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Modern Pharmaceuticals
June 2010
22 26 30 36 40 42 44 46 48
Highlights of Next Issue Industry Update : IT & Automation for Pharma Industry Market Trends : Marketing & Branding Note: $ stands for US dollar and £ stands for UK pound, unless mentioned otherwise
NATIONAL NEWS
Abbott acquires Piramal’s formulations business Ajay Piramal’s flagship company, Piramal Healthcare, has sold its domestic formulations business to US-based multinational drug major Abbott, in a $ 3.72 billion deal. This is the second largest in the Indian pharma space after Daiichi Sankyo’s $ 5.4 billion acquisition of Ranbaxy in
LAND ALLOTMENT
JNPC, Vishakapatnam allots 46 acres to Hospira
Dr K Rosaiah, handing over the allotment letter to Joe Cramer
PHARMA CENSUS
NPPA to conclude first pharmaceutical census of India The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will soon finalise the First Pharmaceuticals Census of India (FPCI), for which the national drug price regulator had launched a campaign in Fe b r u a r y 2008 to develop a comprehensive and reliable database.
INITIATIVES
Courtesy: Panacea Biotec
Panacea Biotec seeking new tie-ups
Panacea Biotec, India’s third largest biotechnology company and one of
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2008, and will make Abbott the largest player in the Rs 60,000-crore domestic market, with a share of over 7 per cent. Thus, Abbott will now takeover Ranbaxy and Cipla, the market leaders for over a decade now. Piramal Healthcare will receive a down payment of Rs 10,000 crore after closing of the transaction by the second half of 2010, and Rs 1,850 crore each for the next four years. Ajay Piramal,
Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, added, “The valuation of about nine times shows the value we were able to create in the domestic market in the last 22 years.”
Dr K Rosaiah, Chief Minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh recently handed over the allotment letter for 46 acres of land at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC), Vishakapatnam to Joe Cramer, Vice President - Global Operations, Hospira Inc and Dr CB Rao, MD Indian Operations, Hospira Inc in Hyderabad. Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Group Chairman, Ramky Group and Dr Lalkrishna, Head, JNPC
were also present at the function. Hospira, Inc, through this allotment, plans to set up its facility at JNPC Special Economic Zone of Vishakapatnam, developed by Ramky Pharma city (India) Ltd. Hospira, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Lake Forest III-USA and operating 14 manufacturing facilities across the globe.
NPPA has already collected data from 6,299 pharma units scattered all over the country through structured questionnaires under the FPCI. The final report will provide a pharmaceutical map of India, exhibiting and illuminating all districts of the country where pharmaceutical manufacturing units exist. It will also detail the investment in plant & machinery, land & building by pharma manufacturing units in the country by class of industry at
disaggregated levels of administrative set-up and the turnover of the units by class of industry, state-wise and district-wise, and also by types of units, ie, formulation or bulk drugs.
the leading vaccine manufacturers by volume, is considering acquiring a pharmaceutical company with its own branded line of products or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) unit in India. The Delhi-based drugmaker is looking for US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) or WHO-certified pharmaceutical formulation facilities, as its own manufacturing facilities for vaccines
and pharmaceutical formulations in India comply with international regulatory requirements like USFDA, UK-MHRA, SAMCC and WHO-cGMP standards. The company also wants to attract more investments into its healthcare services business, specifically the Gurgaon hospital project, with a projected investment of Rs 80 crore.
June 2010
Ajay Piramal
Courtesy: CTVglobemedia
ACQUISITION
AWARD
Troikaa Pharma wins ‘Research in Science and Technology’ excellence award Troikaa Pharmaceuticals Ltd has been conferred the prestigious award for excellence in ‘Research in Science and Technology’ for the year 2009 by Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI). The award was for in-house research in developing the world’s
PHARMA RETAIL
Birla Lifesciences launches Rebirth Birla Lifesciences, the latest venture by the Yash Birla Group, has launched Rebirth, a store for a total wellness experience in Mumbai at Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel. The store is a new and exclusive concept in luxury shopping, and is
FUND RAISING
IOLCP to raise $ 5 million through FCC bonds
IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IOLCP), one of the largest producers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs),
COLLABORATION
IPA, FIP, Eli Lilly join Chemist Association to scale up TB eradication efforts
About 150 retail chemist outlets in the North-East zone of Mumbai comprising areas of Mulund, Chembur,
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first painless diclofenac injection – Dynapar AQ. Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India, presented the award at a function organised by the FGI. Ketan Patel, MD, Troikaa Pharmaceuticals, said, “This award recognises our sustained commitment to developing innovative drug delivery systems for patients. This is the second award conferred to the company for the innovative
Courtesy: PerfectlyEngraved.co.UK
NATIONAL NEWS
product Dynapar AQ. Given our inherent focus on customer-centric innovations, we hope that there will be more recognition in the years to come.”
designed in complete white with a honeycomb structure at the entrance. This structure represents nature and colour white signifies purity of all items. The wellness experience offered includes a holistic range of products & services derived from natural extracts and active ingredients. Also, the ‘Rebirth spa’ offers various personalised therapies and authentic reflexology
treatments. The company also plans to open 47 such stores across the country by the end of 2010.
Ibuprofen & specialty chemicals in India, plans to set up a new manufacturing plant for producing Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs), with a capacity of 150 Tonnes Per Annum (TPA). The company expects a turnover of Rs 60 crore per annum from this initiative to diversify into new generic products line. Besides it will raise the required capital from international markets by issuing $ 5 million, Zero Coupon
Unsecured Foreign Currency Convertible (FCC) bonds (subject to an option to issue an additional $ 10 million of such bonds), which are to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The net proceeds from the issue are intended to be used by IOLCP for investment in the proposed PPI plant to produce anti-ulcer drugs, further expanding its existing manufacturing facilities.
Navi Mumbai and Kalyan have begun providing Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (DOTS) counselling and treatment services from May 10, 2010. The two-year project, with the support of Lilly Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB partnership, is a unique publicprivate collaboration between the government, Chemists’s Association, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), SEARPharm Forum and the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA). The
initiative was officially launched after pharmacists completed training at Bombay College of Pharmacy. Manjiri Gharat, Secretary, IPA DOTS Project, said, “The DOTS-pharmacists’ concept is an outcome of the TB FACT CARD Project, which was the first attempt to engage pharmacists in TB control programme during 2005-06. For the DOTS project, patients can obtain their DOTS medicine thrice a week from the nearby chemist shop free of cost.”
June 2010
The honeycomb at Rebirth store
NATIONAL NEWS
ACCOLADE
Purdue University awards Habil Khorakiwala Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman, Wockhardt was recently conferred the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy by Purdue University. Among 41 other doctorates in the 125-year history of the university, Khorakiwala is the first Indian to be honoured with this degree. This is the highest honour that the University
APPROVAL
Bafna Pharma gets UK MHRA nod for paracetamol and loperamide
Bafna Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the UK health
NUTRACEUTICALS
Elder develops its nutraceutical drug
first
Elder Pharmaceuticals has entered the nutraceutical business with the first-of its-kind nutraceutical drug ‘Ecozyme’ - a chewable form of ‘coenzyme Q10’ that will help in building immunity against cardiovascular diseases, migraine, hypertension, diabetes and neurogenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. While Elder will be AGREEMENT
Courtesy: Diamond Vues
Surya Pharma enters into a marketing agreement with Crocs
Surya Pharmaceuticals recently signed a marketing agreement with Crocs, a
14 Modern Pharmaceuticals
bestows upon individuals of exceptional attainment and merit. A keen disciple of ‘change his management’, Khoakiwala with visionary leadership and mentoring, has transformed Wockhardt into one of India’s leading research-based global healthcare enterprises with relevance in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and super specialty hospitals.
Habil Khorakiwala is an alumnus of Purdue University and Harvard Business School.
regulator, Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), for contract manufacturing of popular drugs, paracetamol and loperamide, earlier this month. The company will manufacture paracetamol tablets and caplets in strengths of 500 mg each. “The approval from UK MHRA for paracetamol and loperamide would further help us strengthen our
already expanding business in the European market,” said Mahaveer Chand Bafna, Chairman & MD, Bafna Pharmaceuticals. Further elaborating, he added, “The UK MHRA approval will enable Bafna Pharma to widen its customer base in Europe. This is the eighth formulation approval received from UK MHRA for a product by Bafna Pharma for contract manufacturing.”
importing the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for the drug from Italy’s Gnosis Labs, it has developed this drug form in-house and plans to file for global patent. The company is hopeful that this drug will be able to rake in sales upwards of Rs 30 crore in next two years. “This is the first fruit of the Rs 50-crore R&D investment that we recently committed. Our strategy is to concentrate on Novel Drug Delivery
Systems (NDDS) and launch coenzyme Q10 in chewable tablet form, which will be the first of its kind globally. We are six months away from the launch of the next product,” said Alok Saxena, Director, Elder Pharma.
footwear manufacturing company based in the US for marketing medical footwear in India. This exclusive marketing alliance intends to generate a revenue of Rs 1 billion in the next two years for the former company. Introducing various international brands in the Indian market is the objective of this alliance for Surya Pharmaceuticals. Om Bhatia, President, Surya Pharmaceuticals said that footwear produced by Crocs are of super fine quality and they
guarantee to provide footcare solutions to the general people as well as patients with arthritis or those who are potential diabetics. The company has created various phases for the distribution of the medical footwear in 15 cities and subsequently in 100 cities over a period of 6-8 months. In addition, Surya Pharmaceuticals has predicted the sales of around 6.5 lakh pairs over the next two years because population suffering from diabetes is on the rise.
June 2010
Habil Khorakiwala
WORLD NEWS
TREND ANALYSIS
Creative solutions needed as pharma in-licensing competition grows
According to independent maret analyst Datamonitor, continued demand for innovative and potentially first-in-class medicines is driving up the cost and driving down the potential return on
COLLABORATION
Orchid, Alvogen join forces to market oral non-antibiotic formulations in the US Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals entered into an out-licensing and distribution alliance with Alvogen to market oral non-antibiotic formulations in the US. Under this agreement, Orchid will develop and manufacture eight oral nonantibiotic formulations for licensing to
NEW EQUIPMENT
High sensitivity of Zetasizer Nano useful in protein aggregation studies
Dr Martin Muschol, Assistant Professor - Department of Physics, University
APPROVAL
FDA approves Provenge® for prostate cancer Dendreon Corporation recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved Provenge® (sipuleucel-T), an autologous cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic, Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
16 Modern Pharmaceuticals
investment for late stage in-licensing deals, pushing the pharmaceutical industry to be more creative as it tries to lessen the impact of patent expiries. As per the press release, the number of healthcare-focussed licensing deals entered into by the top 10 pharma companies in 2009 surged by 12 per cent than the previous year. With the pharma industry seeking to reshape its development pipeline amid widespread cost-cutting and restructuring
of internal R&D activities, the number of deals is expected to grow. Martin Adams, Senior Healthcare Analyst, Datamonitor commented, “Companies of all sizes have to be far more creative and flexible in their approach to securing the best deal terms if they want to maintain healthy Returns On Investment (ROI) and, as a result, relationships between Big Pharma and its partners are becoming increasingly dynamic.”
and marketing by Alvogen in the US. The products will be manufactured at Orchid’s oral Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and dosage form facilities, which are approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA). K Raghavendra Rao, MD - Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said, “Orchid has created a strong base in the US generics market through its antibiotic and non-antibiotic product portfolio. Our growth in the US generics market, since
our entry in 2005 has been robust and has been possible due to our high-value niche product line and the marketing alliance model. Through the alliance with Alvogen, we are confident of achieving robust additions to our business from the US nonantibiotic generic formulations segment.”
of South Florida (USF), and his team have carried out research to better understand the aggregation phenomena of proteins, including protein crystallisation and amyloid fibril growth. Using the Zetasizer Nano ZS, from Malvern Instruments (Malvern, UK), the USF researchers performed temperature-controlled static and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements of protein hydration,
protein interactions and aggregation kinetics in vitro. According to the press release, the Zetasizer Nano ZS is proving to be the perfect sizing solution for biotechnology and materials scientists, offering exceptional sensitivity down to sub-micron and nanometre scales. “By enabling temperature-controlled measurements, the Zetasizer Nano ZS is particularly suited to our work here at USF,” said Dr Muschol.
(CRPC). Provenge is designed to induce an immune response against Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP), an antigen expressed in most prostate cancers, and is the first in a new therapeutic class -autologous cellular immunotherapies. Dr Mitchell H Gold, President & CEO, Dendreon said, “The FDA approval of Provenge proves the courage of the patients and
researchers involved in our studies and is the result of 15 years of research by our dedicated employees. Also, it is a significant step towards realising our mission of transforming the lives of patients with cancer.”
June 2010
WORLD NEWS
PATENT APPLICATION
Power3 Medical files two provisional patent applications
Power3 Medical Products has filed two provisional patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark
CLINICAL TRIALS
Cerenis announces positive result of phase I CER-001 trial Cerenis Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focussed on discovering and developing novel HighDensity Lipoprotein (HDL) therapies, recently completed a phase I study of its investigational product candidate, CER-001, to treat patients with acute coronary syndromes. The results provide
FDA WARNING
High-dose, long-term use of proton pump inhibitors may cause fracture
The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has warned consumers and
FORENSIC SCIENCES
New applied biosystems forensic kits approved for use in NDIS The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has approved Life Technologies Corporation’s applied biosystems Identifiler® Direct and Identifiler® Plus forensic kits for use by laboratories generating DNA profiles for inclusion in the National DNA Index System (NDIS) CODIS Database. The advanced
Office (USPTO) — on Alzheimer’s disease– specific differential diagnosis in a clinical setting as well as on important differences in pathophysiology and therapeutic options for genetically distinct groups of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Dr Ira L Goldknopf, President & CSO, Power3 Medical Products, Inc, commented, “These two provisional patent applications, along with the additional provisional patent application
recently filed by the principals of Power3 and others on the use of stem cell protein biomarkers to monitor stem cell therapy and many others, give information crucial to the accurate diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. These provisional patent applications also include the diagnosis, treatment options and therapy monitoring in neurodegenerative diseases.
evidence that the investigational therapy is safe and well-tolerated at all the dose levels evaluated. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over, single ascending-dose study of 32 healthy dyslipidaemic human volunteers, was designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single intravenous infusions of CER-001.
The results were consistent with pre-clinical findings showing dose-related cholesterol mobilisation, as well as substantial increases in HDL cholesterol levels.
healthcare professionals about a possible increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrist and spine with high doses or long-term use of Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs). The product labeling will also be modified accordingly. PPIs, available by prescription and Over-The-Counter (OTC), reduce the amount of acid in the stomach. Prescription PPIs include esomeprazole (Nexium), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), etc, and are used to treat conditions such as
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), stomach & small intestine ulcers and inflammation of the oesophagus. Dr Joyce Korvick, Deputy Director - Division of Gastroenterology Products, FDA, said, “Epidemiology studies suggest a possible increased risk of bone fractures with the use of PPIs for one year or longer, or at high doses. As these products are used by a large number of patients, it is important for them to be aware of this possible increased risk.”
capabilities of these new forensic kits, along with the company’s MiniFiler™ kit, recently approved by NDIS, has enabled a new era of efficiency and effectiveness for forensic DNA laboratories. Dr Leonard Klevan, President, Human Identification, Life Technologies Corporation said, “We are committed to developing the cutting-edge forensic tools to help address the demand for highquality results from DNA samples that are increasing in quantity and complexity.” He further added, “With this NDIS approval,
forensic scientists can now take full advantage of the innovations offered by our new kits, and integrate these capabilities with our next-generation 3,500 genetic analysis systems, enabling them to achieve an unmatched level of performance, efficiency and data quality.”
June 2010
Modern Pharmaceuticals
17
WORLD NEWS
NSAIDS
ROXRO recieves FDA approval of SPRIX™
ROXRO PHARMA’s recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved SPRIX™ (ketorolac
CLINICAL TRIALS
GTx announces Phase III trial results of Toremifene 20 mg GTx, Inc recently announced the top line results of the Phase III clinical trial evaluating Toremifene 20 mg, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, for prevention of prostate cancer in men with high-grade Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN)—a pre-malignant
PHARMA ANALYSIS
New VDMA document for determining yield of tablet presses
Courtesy: www.ribabat.com
The new VDMA document 8799 provides two concepts for the determination of the
RESEARCH
Pain medication lowers breast cancer recurrence risk According to a study published in Anesthesia & Analgesia, the official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), women who receive one common pain drug during mastectomy are less likely to develop recurrent breast cancer post-surgery. The study states that the choice of anaesthetic and analgesic drugs may, through their effects on the immune
18 Modern Pharmaceuticals
tromethamine) nasal spray, for the short-term (up to 5 days) management of acute moderate to moderately severe pain that requires analgesia at the opioid level. SPRIX™ is a prescription intranasal formulation of the analgesic ketorolac, a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID), designed to provide ambulatory patients with a convenient, potent, and fast-acting option for acute moderate to moderately severe pain relief.
Commenting on the approval, Roberto Rosenkranz, Chief Executive Officer, ROXRO said, “The FDA approval of SPRIX™ provides an important new tool for physicians treating patients with moderate to moderately severe pain. Currently approved injectable forms of ketorolac are already well accepted by the physician community for in-hospital use, so we believe uptake of this more convenient form will be rapid.
lesion of the prostate. On the occasion, Dr Mitchell S Steiner, CEO - GTx stated, “We designed the Phase III trial based on the successful outcome of our Phase IIb clinical trial. Toremifene 20 mg also reduced prostate cancer in our phase III study, but, based on our review of the top line data, sufficient reduction in cancers is not seen compared with placebo over a three-year period to
demonstrate the statistical significance required for this study. We intend to review all data from the study to better understand the results of the trial.”
yield of tablet presses. The yield of tablet presses is an important term in the context of commissioning of tablet presses, and is an essential factor both for the machine user as well as the supplier. The yield of a tablet press is distinguished from the technical yield of a tablet press where for calculating the technical yield only product losses related to the processing unit ‘tablet press’ are considered. Also, the factors having considerable impact on the measured
yield are stated. It is recommended to refer to the concept of technical yield in the context of User Requirement Specifications (URS) and commissioning. Again, the URS values for the factors of impact should be set to clarify the preconditions for commissioning with respect to measurement of the yield of tablet press. This VDMA document was compiled originally in English by the VDMA international working party ‘tablet presses’.
system, impact the outcomes of cancer surgery. Dr Patrice Forget, and colleagues from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, assessed the possible association between pain medications and recurrent cancer risk in 327 women undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer. Women receiving ketorolac, a powerful prescription Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAID) drug, related to aspirin and ibuprofen seemed to be at a lower risk of recurrent breast cancer.
The lower risk of recurrent cancer was still significant after adjustment for other factors, including the patient’s age and the stage of the cancer. No other pain medications used during surgery affected the recurrence rate.
June 2010
Courtesy: MedicExchange
TECH UPDATES
Waters expands Xevo MS instrument platform with next-generation mass spectrometers
Bio-Chem Fluidics’ solenoid-operated micro-pumps feature zero metallic contamination
Waters Corporation has recently introduced two new mass spectrometers for its Xevo MS platform, Xevo TQ-S and Xevo G2 QTof, which bring a step change in the performance to bench top mass spectrometry. The Waters Xevo TQ-S tandem mass spectrometer is capable of accurately measuring target compounds in complex samples at femtogram levels or below. The Xevo TQ-S features new StepWave™ ion-transfer technology that increases the efficiency of ion transfer from the ion source to the quadrupole MS analyser, while at the same time actively eliminating undesirable neutral contaminants. This gives the Xevo TQ-S impressive class-leading sensitivity. With this spectrometer, scientists can now confidently quantify compounds at lower concentrations than previously possible. Xevo G2 QTof is a next-generation bench top exact mass MS/MS mass spectrometer, which gives scientists a comprehensive digital record of the sample that can be re-interrogated at will, eliminating the need to re-analyse the sample which scientists often have to do when, for example, using labelled approaches of ‘data directed’ Xevo G2 QTof protein quantification.
Bio-Chem Fluidics, a subsidiary of Halma p.l.c., is a leading manufacturer of inert, miniature fluid handling components. The customisable pumps from Bio-Chem Fluidics’ full line of micro-pumps, from its Bio-Chem valve range, deliver precise fluid volumes for analytical and chromatography equipment manufacturers, medical & IVD instrumentation, biotechnology and research scientists. Solenoid-operated micro-pumps offer accurate, discrete dispense volumes from 4 to 250 µl to ensure that downstream instruments receive an accurate volume of liquid. Pumps with dispense volumes of 20 µl and larger are self-priming. All the pumps have wetted parts that are constructed from the non-metallic, inert materials for zero metallic contamination to the fluid stream passing through the pump. The micro-pumps’ activation mechanism is rated up to 20 million cycles to ensure that each pump has a long service life. Under its Bio-Chem Valve® and Omnifit® brands, Bio-Chem Fluidics offers complete fluid system solutions for a wide range of industries including analytical chemistry, clinical diagnostics and medical device manufacture, as well as a large labware portfolio for the scientific community. Micro pumps
New Thermo Scientific equipment raise hopes of better performance
AMSBIO develops non-animal recombinant proteins for cell culture and tissue engineering
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has launched the Thermo Scientific APEX 500 Rx metal detector and the Thermo Scientific Versa Rx checkweigher. Both the systems are competitively priced making them accessible to a greater variety of manufacturers. Provided with a unique slack belt system, the Versa Rx can handle weighing as well as control and reject functions with speeds up to 500 packages per minute. Discussing the utility of Versa Rx, Volkert Jan Hage, Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific, said, “There is more than 50 years of experience and expertise behind Versa Rx, which helps set its performance, accuracy and durability apart from checkweighers in its class.” As per the press release, the APEX 500 Rx system is based on the trusted APEX metal detector platform, rendering quality sensitivity, stability and automatic performance verification via the patented audit check feature. Explaining the nature and the work behind the APEX 500 Rx, Bob Ries, Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific, explained, “The APEX 500 Rx meets a major need in today’s market – a costeffective metal detector that provides the highest level of product safety required for the pharmaceutical industry.” Versa Rx
AMS Biotechnology (AMSBIO), a leading international provider of unique and innovative products & custom services for life sciences research, has developed a new range of non-animal recombinant proteins, which can substitute Extracellular Matrix (ECM) proteins that are currently extracted from mouse sarcoma. The Mussel Adhesive Protein–based matrix (MAPTrix®) ECM are coating reagents with genetically incorporated bioactive peptides that mimic the ECM activity of collagen, fibronectin, laminin and vitronectin protein to provide cell attachment, spread and growth. The MAPTrix® ECM reagents are a superior alternative to the conventional chemistry approach. Along with Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motifs, MAPTrix includes a wide variety of alternative motifs that mimic the ECM activity of collagens, fibronectin, laminin, vitronectin & other matrix proteins, thus making its use simple, easy and highly reproducible. All MAPTrix® products are soluble in various buffers including water at a wide pH range (2.0-9.5) and can be used in the cell culture application alone or in combination with other products. MAPTrix® products are available for basic research or drug discovery applications as ready-to-use aqueous coating formulations.
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TECH UPDATES
Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT), a biotech drug developer, has revealed positive pre-clinical data from a study using an Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) gene therapy product to lower cholesterol. This therapy has already worked on protein particles that carry cholesterol in both mice and humans. AMT reports revealed that this protein also has the potential to treat cardiovascular diseases. The data received showed that only a single dose of the gene therapy, which carries a short RNA to silence Apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB100), reduced serum cholesterol by about 80 per cent without causing any toxicity. ApoB100 is the structural protein of Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) particles that transport cholesterol. Further, the data show that AMT is a technology medium that can be used as a powerful tool for successful gene silencing within the target cells. Jorn Aldag, CEO, AMT, said,“This preliminary study suggests that AMT’s technology may have overcome one of the major problems of RNA therapies, namely, efficient and non--toxic intracellular delivery.” While gene therapy is still at its nascent stage, AMT hopes to provide genes to patients who become ill due to a faulty gene.
The Scottish company, Sistemic (Glasgow, UK), has introduced SistemRNA kits that offer highly predictive, relatively simple and cost-effective method of monitoring the toxicity profile of a test compound. These kits are directed at the key therapeutic areas that include oncology & inflammation and the results produced will enable better strategic decision making at critical stages of the drug discovery and development process. The SistemRNA platform uses human cells and its benefit is that with microRNA profiling, pathway control of the entire biological system of the cell can be analysed in a single assay. Minimum data is maintained but knowledge is greatly enhanced, allowing more appropriate decisions to be taken on the development of the compound. “The strength of Sistemic’s approach is that we provide an extremely reliable way to make key decisions on safety & efficacy based on strong biological information on the properties of the compound without referring to the expected target. This lack of bias produces valuable evidence to support drug development and has the power to create some exciting opportunities,” opined Dr Chris t-RNA Hillier, CEO, Sistemic.
ARSL introduces gene scanning service to assist cancer researchers
Ablynx and Pfizer collaboration on TNFalpha nanobodies extended
Affymetrix Research Services Laboratory (ARSL) has developed a gene scanning service to enable cancer researchers to obtain high-quality allele-specific copy number data from the difficult-to-manipulate FormalinFixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissue samples. The new Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) Copy Number Service is available exclusively for research use through the ARSL. Besides providing absolute copy number data, ARSL also provides individual allele copy number information that can be used to detect copy-neutral Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH), infer contamination of tumour sample with normal tissue as well as examine preferential allele amplification. Typical comparative genomic hybridisation techniques do not offer this level of information. “Cancer researchers are unearthing the full potential of millions of archived FFPE samples using MIP copy number technology. Leading cancer researchers can now link copy number data with clinical data from these archived resources. This is the exceptional advantage of the MIP assay and will help researchers yield discoveries that could ultimately improve cancer diagnosis and categorise patients, thus leading to more targeted & individualised strategies for the treatment of cancer,” said Kevin King, CEO, Affymetrix.
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-alpha is the key drug target that plays an important role in countering inflammationrelated disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease and psoriatic arthritis. Ablynx has extended the research collaboration for another year where Pfizer and Ablynx will jointly work to develop an additional nanobody-based therapeutics against TNF-alpha. The primary nanobody drug candidate is currently in Phase II trials for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The partners initially entered into collaboration in November 2006 worth $ 212.5 million in past and future milestone payments for the commercialisation of this drug candidate. Dr Edwin Moses, CEO & Chairman, Ablynx, elaborating on the nature and development of such a nanobody, explained, “There are now four nanobodies in clinical trials including Ablynx’s two anti-thrombosis programmes and an anti-Receptor Activator for Nuclear k B Ligand (RANKL) programme.” RANKL, also known as TNF-Related Activation-Induced Cytokine (TRANCE), Osteoprotegerin Ligand (OPGL) and Osteoclast Differentiation Factor (ODF), is an important factor in Crystal Structure of bone metabolism.
Courtesy: dBTechno
MicroRNA profiling kits facilitate drug development process
Courtesy: Biomolecules Gallery
Cholesterol-lowering gene therapy shows encouraging results
Courtesy: RCSB Protein Data Bank
TNF-alpha
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LEADERS SPEAK
“The OTC and nutraceutical sector show promise in a nation with a population of about one billion” …says Dr Swati Piramal, Director, Piramal Healthcare Ltd, and Vice Chairperson, Piramal Life Sciences. Nominated & considered among the 25 most powerful women in India, she is responsible for research & development, communication, knowledge management, public policy and clinical research at the Piramal Group. Dr Piramal has received numerous awards during her professional stint, the most recent being The Global Empowerment Award in the UK, at the London Hilton in May 2010. Further, she has been invited by the Prime Minister’s office to be a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry. She is also the first woman President of the apex chamber of commerce ASSOCHAM, since its inception 90 years ago. In an interaction with Saloni Vora, Dr Piramal discusses the achievements, current trends and the road ahead for the Indian pharmaceutical sector.
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LE ADERS SPEAK
The journey so far… Our company started with the acquisition of a small British–Australian pharmaceutical company named Nicholas Laboratories in 1988, which ranked 48th in the Indian market. Post-acquisition, we went on to acquire the Indian businesses of multinational companies like Roche (Swiss), Boerhinger Mannheim (Germany), ICI (Scandinavia), Rhone Poulenc (France) and the like. We then in-licensed products from global companies like Gilead, Biogen and Pierre Fabre. Further, our joint venture with Allergan, a global leader in ophthalmic products has notched up leadership status in India. Today, our manufacturing plants are certified by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) and have undergone three inspections without major defects (483s). Also, the company has its plants in the UK and Canada. This steady growth to the peak of the Indian sector features us as the third largest company in India, which is continuously growing strongly with more than 20 brands in the top hundred. In addition, we also export our products to over 100 different countries, and our mission is to reduce the burden of disease by providing high-quality, affordable medicines for our customers.
Present scenario in Indian pharma… The Indian pharma sector is one of the most export-oriented sectors in India. The country is a manufacturer of high technology products and, for decades, it has provided high-quality medicines at the most affordable prices across the world in a wide variety of dosage forms like tablets, injections, vaccines, new drug delivery systems, biotechnology drugs, etc.
The Indian pharma sector is one of the most export-oriented sectors in India. The country is a manufacturer of high-technology products and, for decades, it has provided high-quality medicines at the most affordable prices across the world in a wide variety of dosage forms.
world. At present, there are more than 60 new drugs undergoing clinical trials, many of which are licensed, and their trials are being carried out globally. A few of these drugs are expected to reach the final stage. Moreover, as costs are likely to be one-tenth of those in the West, a new paradigm will be created in the global market.
to be India’s strength. However, the plans of many Western biotechnology and small mid-sized pharma companies were hit hard by the global economic slowdown. Hence, the outsourcing contracts to be received from them have become really sluggish. This trend is now changing with the market gradually gaining momentum.
On acquisitions and mergers…
Your views on the recent Budget...
Mergers and acquisitions will continue to happen in the Indian market landscape. The inclination will be more on the brands rather than companies, as organisations move towards efficiency in marketing and distribution.
Cipla’s ‘i-pill’ acquisition and on the OTC & nutraceuticals sector… An OTC product globally, I-pill, is an excellent solution as an emergency contraceptive pill. It is valuable for a woman’s health, as an abortion later in pregnancy can have associated emotional and medical risks. The OTC and nutraceutical sector show promise in a nation with a population of about one billion, and also has many of its citizens moving into the middle class segment. Today, awareness in personal care and good nutrition is growing and an increasing number of consumers are adopting wellness products. Moreover, responsible self-medication reduces healthcare costs for minor ailments.
Current trends… India is now also investing in discovery research and will soon become the medicine-manufacturing hub for the
Current scenario of CRAMS… The Contract Research & Manufacturing Segment (CRAMS) continues
The Finance Minister has been quite receptive to our requests for increased tax credits and deductions for R&D. However, we are still way behind other leading innovative economies like the US, Canada, Israel, Korea, China and Taiwan in the life sciences sector. In these countries, the government makes enormous investments in the form of grants, subsidies, deductions and investment in higher education. So far, India has done well with limited resources by using the power of networks for new drug discovery.
R&D activities at Piramal Life Sciences … Piramal Life Sciences is a drug discovery company with over 14 compounds in its portfolio. More than 400 scientists are working in the state-of-the-art facility in Mumbai to discover and develop new drugs. The company holds a portfolio of issued patents for newly discovered drugs as well as a large number of process patents. It has a unique natural product library
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LEADERS SPEAK
along with nine national laboratories, mines the oceans, deserts, mountains and rainforests in the Indian subcontinent. This approach has yielded a large number of new drug leads. The mission of the company is to discover and develop a new drug for the global market that can help reduce the burden of disease by bringing an affordable drug not only for India but the whole world. Currently, it has a number of late-stage assets in cancer, inflammation and metabolic diseases. The lead compound P276 for cancer is in clinical trials in five countries including the US, Australia and Canada. Further, research is going on in the infectious disease area.
Challenges for Indian pharma… The challenges currently faced by the Indian pharma sector include
The challenges currently faced by the Indian pharma sector include price control and lack of clarity on many aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). price control and lack of clarity on many aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Though double-digit inflation burdens manufacturing of products, companies are not permitted to increase prices by more than 10 per cent annually. Moreover, even if the prices of raw materials escalate, prices of manufactured products
cannot be increased in tandem with these rising numbers, which is therefore not very remunerative. As a result, manufacturers stop production, thereby leading to shortages. An example of the same is that of Vitamin C, which recently experienced a shortage of supply.
Road ahead… Innovation, low-cost manufacturing and good management in the Indian pharma industry can ensure that it is a net exporter of products to the world. The contribution of this industry to global health is immense and will continue to grow in future. Moreover, the sector is fundamentally strong on its huge domestic demand and can scale new heights if inefficiencies in transaction costs and regulatory bottlenecks are reduced.
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An invite that rewards as well...
Dear Reader, ‘Modern Pharmaceuticals’ solicits original, well-written, application-oriented, unpublished articles that reflect your valuable experience and expertise in the pharmaceutical industry. You can send us Technical Articles, Case Studies and Product Write-ups. The length of the article should not exceed 3000 words, while that of a product write-up should not exceed 200 words. The articles should preferably reach us in soft copy (either E-mail or a CD). The text should be in MS Word format and images in 300 DPI resolution & JPG format. The final decision regarding the selection and publication of the articles shall rest solely with ‘Modern Pharmaceuticals’. Authors whose articles are published will receive a complimentary copy of that particular issue and an honorarium cheque. Published by Infomedia 18 Limited, ‘Modern Pharmaceuticals’ is the leading monthly magazine exclusively meant for producers and user fraternities of the pharmaceutical industry. Well supported by a national readership of over 80, 000 and our strong network of 26 branch offices across India, this magazine reaches out to key decision makers among the Indian manufacturers of pharma products, machinery and allied sectors. Brought out in association with Hong Kong-based Ringier Trade Media Ltd (one of the world’s largest trade publishing houses with more than 200 special interest titles and offices in every major country), it ensures that advertisers are able to promote their products and services across the globe at no extra cost. So get going and rush your articles, write-ups, etc… Thanking you, Yours sincerely,
Modern Pharmaceuticals (June-10) Insert 1-Pg 24A
Modern Pharmaceuticals (June-10) Insert 1-Pg 24B
ROUNDTABL E
Marketing practices in pharma
Need for a modified approach? Keeping in mind the sensitive relationship
between
the
doctors and pharma companies, a notification was issued in the recent past prohibiting practising doctors from accepting gifts from
pharma
companies.
However, the implementation of these changes is imperative in order to achieve the desired objective.
Shivani
Mody
presents the views of some industry experts on the need for
a
modified
marketing
approach
practices
in
in the
pharma industry.
Dr Ajit Dangi President & CEO, Danssen Consulting A symbiotic relationship exists between the pharmaceutical industry and medical professionals worldwide. Maintaining this relationship at a purely professional level is important, like dissemination of scientific information, continuous medical education of the physicians to keep them abreast of the latest scientific and clinical research for patients’ benefit. However, over the years, this relationship has been diluted into a commercial quid pro quo, particularly in India. Despite the availability of written guidelines on ethical promotional practices by industry associations like Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), errant pharma companies try to attract medical professionals with gifts, foreign jaunts,
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etc in lieu of the prescriptions generated by the physicians for the company’s products. Such pharma companies should be blamed, along with several regional medical associations that are known to twist industry’s arms to donate for annual conferences conducted by such associations. Also, medical associations endorsing products like toothpaste, antibacterial soaps, health drinks, etc for a fee is also questionable. Taking these aspects into consideration, the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) has amended the rules of these practices, making them more stringent. However, the amended rules are ambiguous and will only harm ethical pharma companies that conduct scientific meetings, conferences, etc, and will work as a competitive disadvantage to them. Also, there is a significant rivalry among medical professionals, which might result in accusations against a rival for unethical practices. The solution to this problem lies in forming a joint coordinating body of senior pharma professionals and eminent physicians in order to provide oversight and pull up erring defaulters. The amended rules need to be made more specific regarding value of gifts, guidelines for conducting scientific research, etc.
ROUNDTABLE
Devinder Pal Founder President & CEO, Catalyst Pharma Consulting The erstwhile MCI’s notification calls for more stringent regulations for doctors in their relationship with the pharmaceutical and allied health sector. This is a positive and a much needed step forward to contain the malaise that has begun to hurt & distort the professional relationship between few doctors & individuals from the pharma industry. Unethical practices to gain doctor’s support for
Dr Ravindra L Kulkarni Consultant & Interventional Cardiologist, National Heart Institute, Deendayal Memorial Hospital Considering its long-term benefits, the erstwhile MCI’s notification is good as it will help to curb malpractices, unnecessary favours, expensive gifts and travels offered to doctors, which is not the proper way to promote products. Rather, companies should help to promote scientific aspects of drugs as well as medical education, which is an ongoing endeavour.
Supratim Majumdar Industry Analyst, Healthcare Practice, (South Asia, Middle East & North Africa) Frost & Sullivan The purpose of a visit that involves detailing of medicines to physicians by sales professionals is the dissemination of unbiased scientific information, enabling physicians to make decisions towards better delivery of patient care. Due to the commercialisation of the relationship between the two, the purpose deviates and becomes diluted. There is a growing concern about this highly prevalent physician-industry
prescription of their drugs are some methods that are being used by some pharma companies to promote their products. Thus, there is an urgent need to monitor this distorting relationship to prevent it from further degenerating and completely separating it from professionalism, thus compromising patients’ interests and at times, even safety. The objectives of the notification are therefore laudable and consistent with the current thinking of many pharma and healthcare professionals in the developed countries. In fact, several large international pharma companies have been voluntarily disclosing ‘spending on doctors’ on their websites. Thus, for effective and seamless implementation, it is necessary that the guidelines, while being restrictive, are practical & workable.
As per the recent notification, companies need to revise their already existing strategies. Companies can thus lower the cost of drugs to a great extent. Instead of giving unnecessary gifts, they can promote their sales by patient awareness activities, medical education & training sessions for doctors and providing access to academic materials for doctors like books, journals, research papers, etc. Further, this code of ethics is not likely to affect medical institutes and research organisations, as they do not violate ethics conduct. No transition time is required for companies to put the new notification in practice. The companies should focus on reducing cost of medicine as well as educational activities for patients & doctors.
relationship, which, mostly, unduly influences professional judgments involving the primary interests and goals of medicine. Spurred by such concerns, the erstwhile MCI had released a fresh code of conduct for doctors and professional association of doctors in their relationship with pharmaceutical & allied health sector industry, which prohibit them from accepting any gifts, travel facility or hospitality, from any pharma company or the healthcare industry. These new codes of conduct have missed more critical issues such as enforcement. The provisions only fulfill legal requirements, without any clarity on implementing them in terms of monitoring, complaints, review, etc. This Council does not control the pharma industry, so the notification will not directly influence the industry. However, if the medical fraternity, introspects and self-regulates the new codes can be upheld.
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ROUNDTABL E
Tapan Ray Director General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) The regulations are aimed at improving the ethical standards in the medical profession and are expected to achieve the desired objectives. It is noteworthy that within the pharmaceutical industry in India, OPPI first introduced its own new code of ethical marketing practices in 2007, for self-regulations in this important arena. The OPPI code sets out standards for ethical promotion of pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals in order to ensure that interactions between its member companies and such professionals are not only appropriate but also perceived as such. Although the regulations are steps in the right direction, the pharmaceutical industry, by and large, is
Yogesh Parikh Executive Director, Unimark Remedies Ltd The notification regarding the guidelines on ethical promotional practices by the erstwhile MCI is a good indication and a move towards improved ethical marketing practices. It is of the highest priority and of utmost importance that the product prescription for a disease condition is based mostly on the medical need and not on other strings attached to it. With effect to the notification being implemented, small companies actually carrying out sales based on promotions, discounts, etc would be affected. The notification will further ensure that product promotion and merits of the product, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), etc will be the basis of selling the product rather than other activities.
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apprehensive that important and informative Continuing Medical Education (CME), which in turn could help the patients immensely, may be adversely affected with this new regulation and so are the areas involving medical/ clinical research & trials. The OPPI Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices, in contrast, clearly specifies a practical and neutral ‘Do’s & ‘Dont’s’ in the areas of CME. Eli Lilly, the first global pharmaceutical company to voluntarily announce such a disclosure around September 2008, has already uploaded its physician payment details on its website. Also, the US pharmaceutical major Merck has followed suit, and so have Pfizer and GSK. Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic and the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania are also in the process of disclosing details of payments made by the pharmaceutical companies to their research personnel and the physicians. Similarly, the Royal College of Physicians, UK, has been recently reported to have called for a ban on gifts to the physicians and support to medical training by the pharmaceutical companies.
Instead of resorting to expensive measures such as gifting doctors, pharma companies should attempt to organise workshops and seminars that provide additional information about their products to doctors. Conducting such events more frequently will help to provide regular updates to doctors, which is necessary both for the fraternity and the pharma companies. These seminars can also be a platform for disseminating information to the doctors about the latest trends in a particular field, and the direction in which the international research & treatments are progressing. Further, such policy changes will be a deciding factor, as ethical practices would be imbibed from the beginning, so as to facilitate ethical marketing of products. Thus, clinical research, in terms of product approval, will become critical and expensive. These studies will further become important, as they have to bring out differentiating factors to sell the product. Further, additional studies on bioavailability/ bioequivalence (BE/BA) and, in some cases, clinical studies would be required.
SECTOR WATCH
Pharma retailing has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. At present, this sector is poised for rapid growth, and is witnessing many developments that are transforming the face of the pharma. Further, the pace of developments are likely to open new growth frontiers in the near future. Saloni Vora traces the path of progress in this segment, highlighting the key drivers and the top five trends that are likely to dominate the sector in future.
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SECTOR WATCH
t
Key growth drivers There are a wide range of factors fuelling the growth of this vibrant sector. First, the growth in population
Anurag Jain Head-Marketing, Birla Lifesciences Pvt Ltd
The Indian retail pharma market size is estimated to be approximately Rs 33,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent, excluding the Ayurvedic market. This sector is expected to double in size in the next five years. in terms of sheer numbers will Besides, the Indian healthcare translate into additional demand sector is also making significant impact for medicines. Second, the strong with the introduction of personalised economic growth profile of India in the care & services. Such factors are also past few years has had positive impact known to set the pace of the pharma on the income demographics, leading retail sector. Avers Majumdar, “The to the emergence of affluent middle healthcare sector in India is getting more class having greater accessibility & sophisticated than it was earlier. The affordability for healthcare facilities services side of the healthcare industry and medicare. Citing other factors is growing substantially and rapidly. In a contributing to the increasing net sense, pharma retailing is a proxy for the retail pharma industry in India, Dipta healthcare sector. Therefore, it will grow Chaudhury, Program Manager-Pharma accordingly. Also, the disease profile and Biotech Practice (South Asia, in India is changing from infectious Middle East & North Africa), Frost & diseases to lifestyle diseases, which Sullivan, elaborates, “Health insurance require more intensive care. This will is also growing in India, with more entail medication on an ongoing basis, private insurance providers offering which will in turn make prescriptionincreasing coverage, thereby driving based medicine mandatory.” the growth of pharma retail. The rural Moreover, in the current scenario, market is also growing strong in the life expectancy has increased country, providing the required boost considerably, which is another reason to pharma retail. Also, the emergence to boost the sales volume of this and expansion of organised pharma sector. According to Majumdar, earlier retail is also providing a much needed Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs in the impetus. In addition, pharmaceutical companies are vitalising the pharma retail sector by launching novel drugs with no or small time lag between global and Indian launches. Further, most of the recent launches are taking place in segments of oncology, cardiovascular, neurology, autoimmune diseases, etc, which are expected to grow Arrangement of prescription medicines in a pharmacy stronger in India.”
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Courtesy: Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
he Indian pharmaceutical industry has made significant strides in the past few years. A judicious mix of various factors has played an important role in orchestrating the growth of this industry. Besides, with the emergence of various business models, many developments have taken place in the Indian pharma retail sector. Describing the current scenario in this sector, Anurag Jain, Head-Marketing, Birla Lifesciences Pvt Ltd avers, “The Indian retail pharma market size is estimated to be approximately Rs 33,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent, excluding the Ayurvedic market. This sector is expected to double in size in the next five years. In contrast, the Ayurvedic domestic market is pegged at about Rs 7,000 crore while the Ayurvedic export market accounts for approximately Rs 3,600 crore.” Supporting the statement, Devarati Majumdar, Chief-Pharmacy, Max Healthcare Inst Ltd, says, “Today, there are approximately 8,00,000 pharmacies in India, which include about 60,000 distributors. The segment is extremely fragmented and has its own set of challenges. Pharma retailing can be segregated into two parts, wherein chemists form the primary part, and pharma companies that are selling medicines through institutions like hospitals comprise the second part. Although hospitals are not classified as such, ultimately, the product is being sold at retail.” Also, presently, the contribution of the organised pharma retail segment towards this sector is minimal, about two per cent of the retail market. However, with the organised sector maturing, this scenario is expected to change.
SECTOR WATCH
Devarati Majumdar Chief-Pharmacy, Max Healthcare Inst Ltd
Rural areas show significant opportunity for pharma retail but the format in these regions cannot be the same as in urban areas because the consumers in these areas simply want to buy the product, unlike the urban areas. where the consumer would like to couple the activity of buying the medicine with an enjoyable shopping experience. price range of Rs 10-20 used significant space on the pharmacy shelf, but tablets and medicines that are more expensive for lifestyle diseases occupy this space today. Hence, sales of higher value products are driving the growth in pharma retail and overall expenses on drugs have amplified per household as a result of growing health awareness.
Business models in practice In the present scenario, different individuals seem to be experimenting with different ideas & concepts, and hence different models continue to exist. However, two most popular pharma retail business models are widely practised in India, ie, the unorganised, also known as standalone and the organised pharma retail models. Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each model, Chaudhury explains, “If we consider the revenue split between the organised and unorganised segments, it is evident that the traditional model of standalone pharmacies is still dominant in India, though organised pharma retail is on a strong growth path. The traditional model plays on relationship with customers. A standalone pharmacy can reach the closest to customers in terms of access. They have built long-term relationships with their clienteles due to their prolonged presence. Closeness and long-term relationship are the strongest points for standalone pharmacies on which they compete with organised
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pharmacy chains. However, the most important drawbacks of standalone pharmacies are the absence of qualified pharmacists and chances of spurious drug supply. Also, standalone pharmacies stock critical Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) at a low level, which so frequently go out of stock. Besides, these pharmacies store medicines only. However, the scenario is changing gradually where standalone pharmacies are now storing health supplements and beauty products as well. Organised
Integration of IT in pharma retailing is another trend observed in this sector that is making the retail outlets better equipped to manage their supply chains. pharma retail scores more on the drawbacks of traditional pharma retail.” Many organised retail players are now going beyond +and providing better facilities & services to the customers, eg, personalised care, customer loyalty programmes, membership with different discount, incentive schemes, etc. These elements are playing an important role in propelling the growth of this sector, and ensuring the revisit of customers back to each chain, besides volume sales.
June 2010
Throwing light and predicting future trends with respect to the models that will gain more popularity and prominence, Rajendra Gupta, International Retail & Healthcare Expert avers, “Supermarket-based pharmacies are here to stay. Currently, these pharmacies are in the learning phase. Conversely, standalone pharmacies that can catch up with the times will continue to exist, and even flourish while the remaining will fizzle out. Also, a slight decline in the number of standalone retail pharmacies may be witnessed in the next three years. Besides, classic pharmacy players that focus only on selling medicines will have to undergo transition to a model where medicines will be sold along with other Daily-Use Consumer Products (DUCPs). However, with a shift in the demographics in the major cities in India, convenience and all-India discounts are gaining more importance than the mom-and-pop model of the traditional pharmacies. This, along with prompt service, reliable stocks and additional service offerings are driving growth of the organised pharma retail sector.”
Changing trends With developments taking place in several arenas, new trends in Indian pharma retail sector are on the horizon. Suggests Chaudhury, “The most critical change observed in this sector is the emergence and growth of organised pharma retailing with retail chains like Apollo Pharmacy, Religare, Medicine Shoppe, etc. These are mostly initiated by corporates with long-term investment capability. Foreign players have also shown interest in this sector, and are entering the market. Again, rapid expansion of existing chains of pharma retail outlets has been observed in the recent past.” Consolidation of existing chains to form stronger and more competitively priced medicine stores is another emerging trend. Observes Gupta, “Already, considerable consolidation
SECTOR WATCH
Marketing the ‘pharmacy’ brand Many individuals are of the opinion that ‘What’s in a name?’ But, in today’s fast paced competitive scenario, there are multiple advantages and benefits that are generated by a name. This fact holds equal importance for the pharma retail sector as well. Avers P B Ramamoorthy, COO - Pharmacy Retail (Country Head- Operations), Apollo Pharmacy Retail, “Marketing and branding are the best sources for any retail market to get the customers. Further, uniform branding creates brand awareness and helps in brand recall by the customers. In today’s scenario, the changing mindset of the customers to get the best shopping experience makes the
Dipta Chaudhury Program Manager-Pharma and Biotech Practice, (South Asia, Middle East & North Africa), Frost & Sullivan
Marketing & branding practices are essential and should aim towards reaching nearer to the customers and also developing confidence among them in terms of reliability & quality of services, as well as increasing the top-of-mind brand recall. branding important for any retailer. A branded store with good visibility, proper merchandising and customer friendly environment will be the best option for any customer to enter the store.” Further, organised pharma retail has to compete not just with other organised players but also with standalone pharmacies that have an advantage of proximity and longterm relationship with customers. Chaudhury explains, “Marketing & branding practices are essential and should aim towards reaching nearer to the customers and also developing confidence among them in terms of reliability & quality of services, as well as increasing the top-of-mind brand recall.” Interestingly, in Gupta’s opinion, in the context of pharma retailing, robust marketing & branding practices should be in the form of ‘service’ and ‘care’ beyond dispensing. He further adds, “Pharma retailers should undergo transition from ‘selling’ to ‘servicing’ the customers. Only then one’s pharmacy business will scale up and become profitable.”
are focussing on rural and non-metro areas to tap the unexplored potential in these areas. Explains Majumdar, “As one can see, there is a completely skewed penetration of pharmaceutical stores in the country. Rural areas show significant opportunity for pharma retail but the format in these regions cannot be the same as in urban areas because the consumers in these areas simply want to buy the product, unlike the urban areas, where the consumer would like to couple the activity of buying the medicine with an enjoyable shopping experience. Hence, the format for these areas will require modifications accordingly.”
Key challenges Although the Indian pharma retail sector is in a state of dynamism, with constant unfolding of new events and plans to boost the growth of the industry, yet there are many challenges being faced by the sector that need to be overcome. Avers Gupta, “The organised pharmacy Courtesy:MediVoice, LLC
has taken place in this sector, like the acquisition of Pills & Powder by Lifeken, acquisition of Lifeken and CRS by Religare as well as the emergence of the state-level bodies in All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) to take on the organised chains are a few examples elucidating this trend.” He also adds that the changes observed have been different at different levels. Today, in major towns and cities, the focus is more towards organised retail. With malls and supermarkets redefining the standards of shopping in different segments of retail, customers are expecting the same ambience in retail pharmacies as well. Disease management as a concept is gaining popularity in pharmacy retail, which is provided as a value-added clinical service generally in organised pharmacies and retail chains. Integration of IT in pharma retailing is another trend observed in this sector that is making the retail outlets better equipped to manage their supply chains. This is especially crucial for retail pharmacies as they intend to expand through India.
Reaching out to rural areas Currently, two-thirds of all the stores in India are in the urban sector. Only a third of them are in rural areas. Infact, over 70 per cent of pharmacy outlets are in five states—Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Punjab, which comprise only about 30 per cent of India’s population. Today, many companies
June 2010
An illustration of e-retail
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SECTOR WATCH
Rajendra Gupta International Retail & Healthcare Expert
With a shift in the demographics in the major cities in India, convenience and all-India discounts are gaining more importance than the mom-and-pop model of the traditional pharmacies.
model in India has been prevalent for more than two decades now, yet many pharmacy chains are struggling to evolve a profitable model, and understand the scope of the services that the pharmacies should offer. A few obstacles faced by the industry include elusive profits, recruiting competent & dedicated staff as pharmacists & store helpers, discovering differentiating factors that help to attract and retain customers, etc.” Besides, other areas of concern include the counterfeit drugs, long distribution supply chain, etc. Believes Chaudhury, “Dealing with spurious medicines is a challenge that the pharma retail sector is facing since a long time without much respite. Also, moving against the established supply value chain for pharma is a major challenge, which affects the pricing and discounts offered by the companies.” In Gupta’s opinion, the solution to the problems faced by the industry lies on two fronts. First, organised retailers need to come together
on a single platform and work in proximity, learning from each other’s mistakes as well as jointly raise & discuss issues. Working together will help to address the issues effectively and assist to grow in the market. He also adds, “The pharmaceutical industry must help the standalone chemists in smaller towns and train them to offer better services to the customers. It is the responsibility of the pharma companies to help their strongest partner (the retailer) in enhancing the customer experience working in tandem with them. In addition, improving the quality of retail chemist will play a significant role for faster and better growth of the pharma industry.”
Future forward The future of the Indian pharma retail sector looks bright and the industry will be witnessing much activity, with different trends gaining momentum in the next few years. According to Chaudhury, the top five trends that can be witnessed in this sector would be direct entry of
P B Ramamoorthy COO - Pharmacy Retail (Country Head- Operations), Apollo Pharmacy Retail
Private labelling is one of the trends that may become popular in future. It represents an effective way to be competitive by differentiating one’s store and one’s brand. This concept would result in increase in the number of repeat customers once private labels in different categories are established.
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foreign players in the Indian market, new & more stringent regulations for pharmacies, organised pharma retail chains evolving as ‘neighbourhood pharmacies’, medical malls developing alongside the shopping malls as prevalent in the US and emergence of pharma e-retail, where it would be possible for customers to buy their medication online, with proof of prescription, again as available in the US. However, this move will be driven by regulatory allowances in India, and may take some time due to the unstructured nature of the sector. In the opinion of Jain, consumers would be increasingly opting for OTC drugs for lifestyle disorders, while the nutraceutical market is also poised for growth in the near future. Besides this, Ramamoorthy feels, “Private labelling is one of the trends that may become popular in future. It represents an effective way to be competitive by differentiating one’s store and one’s brand. This concept would result in increase in the number of repeat customers once private labels in different categories are established.” In addition, generic and OTC products are all set to change the rules of the game in the few years. According to Gupta, “With the latest acquisition of Nicholas Piramal by Abbott, the Multinational Companies (MNCs) command more than 50 per cent of the marketshare in the $ 9.5 billon Indian pharma market. In the next 2-3 years, more such similar acquisitions by MNCs of the Indian pharma companies would take their marketshare to about 70 per cent, having a direct impact on the pharmacy retail trade. Further, this will bring focus on the organised retail pharmacy market in India. Thus, the multinational pharma companies will play a major role in supporting the organised retail pharmacy players in the future.”
MARKET TRENDS
Alternative medicines
Courtesy: www.nationmultimedia.com
Towards personalised treatment
With increase in the side-effects of modern medicine along with the rising treatment costs, alternative medicines are now gaining more popularity. Several government initiatives and campaigns have added to the awareness about these systems of medicine. Moreover, this field is gaining momentum with the introduction and implementation of modern manufacturing practices. KTP Radhika Jinoy explores the extent of these new developments, challenges and thereby the future of these medicines. he term ‘alternative medicine’ is generally used to describe practices used independently or in place of conventional medicine. Alternative systems like Ayurveda can be used for the treatment of anaemia or anorectal ailments along with other disorders. Similarly, homoeopathy can also be used to prevent or cure acute conditions like swine flu, or to treat chronic diseases like asthma. In Novermber 2009, in order to boost the branch of alternative medicine, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, announced various steps to promote ‘Indian
t
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Systems of Medicine’ in the country. According to this initiative, Rs 922 crore have been allocated for the promotion of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). In the present scenario, even though modern medicine is the primary healthcare system practised in India, people are getting increasingly aware of the inevitable adverse effects and therapeutic limitations of modern pharmaceutical drugs – especially in long-term therapy of chronic diseases. This is a major factor contributing to the renewed popularity of traditional herbal medicines, which are considered comparatively
MARKET TRENDS
safer than modern drugs. Says Dr Shefaali Thanawala, Senior Medical Advisor, Plethico Pharmaceuticals Ltd, “Today, strenuous lifestyle and the resulting increase in incidence of various lifestyle-related diseases such as hypercholesterolaemia, Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), diabetes mellitus, depression, etc, is causing a general shift in the focus of the people from disease treatment to disease prevention, leading them to search for relatively safer & effective options like alternative medicines.”
Dr Shefaali Thanawala Senior Medical Advisor, Plethico Pharmaceuticals Ltd
For diseases like arthritic disorders, liver disorders, adjuvant therapy for diabetes, cardiac disease, anxiety and stress, herbal medicines, if used judiciously, can help to prevent or atleast delay the progression of disease.
In India, Ayurveda has been integrated into national healthcare systems, thereby expanding the scope of alternative system in medical care. According to recent statistics, the number of hospitals catering to Ayurveda has increased more than three times every year. Ayurveda has also been included in the National Rural Health Mission, which has given further impetus to the growth and development of alternative medicine. Currently, Ayurvedic industry is growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent, according to recent reports. Moreover, 60-80 per cent of the Indian population uses Ayurvedic medicines. Dr Sunita Belgamwar, Chairman, Maharashtra Ayurveda Center, says, “Globally, the use of herbal medicines is approximately 40 per cent. The current global herbal trade is around $ 60-70 billion. A World Health Organization (WHO) report shows that the industry is expected to attain a value of $ 5 trillion by 2050.”
maintenance of health, and are thus gaining worldwide recognition. Today, by the use of modes of communication, the awareness on the quality, safety and efficacy of alternative medicines has been well-established among people. Dr Rangesh Paramesh, Head – New Product Initiatives (R&D Centre), Himalaya Drug Company, says, “The Department of AYUSH has brought out an official pharmacopoeia to ensure development of quality alternative medicines. Awareness campaigns like ‘Arogyamela’ - an initiative by the Government of India - where scientists and experts explain the quality, safety and efficacy of alternative medicines, are helping to disseminate creative knowledge of alternative medicines among the people.” Experts opine that though the Indian population is generally aware of the efficacy of herbal medicines, definitive efforts are required in order to prevent the tall claims of curative effects of herbal products, which are made due to misinterpretation of Ayurvedic principles and due to lack of scientific support.
Increasing awareness
Dr Sunita Belgamwar
In India, since ages, traditional herbal medicines have been extremely popular, and are used by majority of the population. Most of the Indian households are well aware of a number of home remedial measures, which have trickled down from various therapies and prescriptions described in the ancient science of Ayurveda. In addition, other alternative therapies like Yoga have maintained their unique place for
Chairman, Maharashtra Ayurveda Center
Ayurvedic and herbal medicines
Expanding the scope Herbal medicines have immense scope in the therapeutic segments where modern medicine faces limitations. Avers Dr Thanawala, “ For diseases like arthritic disorders, liver disorders, adjuvant therapy for diabetes, cardiac disease, anxiety and stress, herbal medicines, if used judiciously, can help to prevent or atleast delay the progression of disease. ” Ayurvedic and herbal medicines thus help in disease prevention and reduction of the relapse/re-infection. A majority of the medicinal herbs studied during experimental research have proved to exert antioxidant or protective effect on the vital organs. She adds, “Some medicinal herbs inducing hepatoprotective effect include Phyllanthus niruri and Picrorrhiza kurroa; cardioprotective effect of Terminalia arjuna; gastroprotective effect of Asparagus racemosus; neuroprotective effect of Celastrus paniculatus, etc.” Today, considerable research is taking place in Ayurvedic and herbal system of medicine to understand the synergy
Today, as forests are disappearing, there is a tremendous lack of standardised and graded raw materials. Many medicinal plants are on the verge of extinction, and their traceability & identification is questionable.
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MARKET TRENDS
Dr Rangesh Paramesh Head – New Product Initiatives (R&D Centre), Himalaya Drug Company
The Department of AYUSH has brought out an official pharmacopoeia to ensure development of quality alternative medicines. Awareness campaigns like ‘Arogyamela’ - a Government of India initiative are helping to disseminate creative knowledge of alternative medicines among the people. of herbs in combination. Dr Paramesh says, “The Research and Development (R&D) also focusses on medicines for non-communicable chronic diseases like bronchial asthma, hypertension, peptic ulcer, psoriasis, rheumatic arthritis and urolithiasis. Certain tropical diseases like malaria, filaria as well as lifestyle & metabolic diseases such as obesity and lipid disorders are a few other areas of ongoing research.” Recently, many companies are entering into production of herbal and Ayurvedic formulations using modern manufacturing techniques. Also, the packaging of the drugs has improved with the use of modern equipments.
Constraints to overcome The market for well-researched herbal medicines is growing rapidly. In addition, increasing numbers of doctors are accepting these medicines either as a first line treatment or as adjuvants in the treatment of various diseases. However, there are several challenges for the growth of alternative medicines in India.
A lack of quality herbal raw materials is the current biggest impediment for alternative medicines. “Today, as forests are disappearing, there is a tremendous lack of standardised and graded raw materials. Many medicinal plants are on the verge of extinction, and their traceability & identification is questionable,” says Dr Belgamwar. Adding to this, Dr Suresh Babu, Manager – Medical & Marketing Services, Anglo-French Drugs & Industries Ltd, avers, “Standardisation of herbs in medicinal formulation, especially when used in combination, is a challenge to herbal medicine. Due to the inadequacy of scientifically proven documentation or studies, there are several irrational formulations available in the market. Also, only a few good manufacturing facilities are available for contact manufacturing of herbal products for capsules, ointments, gels & syrups.” Another roadblock is the fraudulent medicines that are branded as herbal products. Many branded products in the market are using
Dr Suresh Babu Manager – Medical & Marketing Services, Anglo-French Drugs & Industries Ltd
Standardisation of herbs in medicinal formulation, especially when used in combination is causing a challenge to herbal medicine. Due to the inadequacy of scientifically proven documentation or studies, there are several irrational formulations available in the market.
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much higher chemical constituents as compared to herbal extracts or scents. Such products are being advertised as herbal or Ayurvedic products. Also, about 80 per cent of the alternative medicine industry comes under the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector, which is mostly unorganised in nature. Due to this nature, costs of branding and promotion are becoming unaffordable for many players. Moreover, documentation of the clinical results of generic and proprietary Ayurvedic formulations is failing to prove their efficacy on a global level. To counter these challenges, various steps need to be taken. Considering in the alternative system of medicine, every treatment is a personalised treatment approach, depending on individual patients, generalisation of medicines like that in allopathy will hamper the results. Instead, generalisation and standardisation of raw material should be done such that they can be used by practitioners directly for preparing formulae for their patients at the clinic. Further, there should be more collective and collaborative efforts by all stakeholders. Thus, the government should increase funding and there should be transparency on the quality control norms. Moreover, rules & regulations related to drugs must be revised and new standards should be set, considering the nature of raw material used for finished goods production. Says Dr Belgamwar, “If India being the home of Ayurveda compromises on traditionalism under the pressure of modernity, the world will soon lose interest in this system of treatment. Hence, we need to carefully adopt modern processes and modalities to evaluate mass production and quality of finished goods, without compromising the values of medicine and manufacturing processes.” Also, more R&D on preservation techniques of herbal material is required to be carried out. Mass scale cultivation and preservation of medicinal plants will
MARKET TRENDS
help to minimise the demand-supply gap, and adaptation of innovative packaging techniques and materials will help in longer shelf-life of herbal drugs.
Homoeopathy as an alternative Along with Ayurvedic and herbal treatment, homoeopathy is also one of the fastest growing systems of alternative medicines today. Used by 500 million people worldwide, it is the second largest medical system in the world, according to the WHO. Increasing popularity: Dr Mukesh Batra, Chairman and MD, Dr Batra’s Positive Health Clinic Pvt Ltd, says, “There has been a real shift in the way people think about their health today. Many people are attracted to homoeopathy because of its emphasis in treating the person as a whole — body, mind and spirit. In this age of managed care and impersonal group practices, most people find this individualised approach of homoeopathy particularly appealing. Further, increasing healthcare costs is another factor for the surge of interest in Homeopathy.”
Cluster scheme for AYUSH Government of India has launched the ‘Scheme for development of AYUSH clusters’, a central sector scheme in the 11th five-year plan. The objectives of this scheme is to fill in the critical gaps in the sector, through a cluster based approach, and to encourage the level of organisation in the sector, thereby creating social capital for sustainability of collective initiatives. The tangible benefits of the schemes are co-Inform (identifying cluster members and their competence), co-Learn (sponsoring educational and training programmes), co-Market (promoting the clusters products or services), co-Purchase (jointly acquiring equipment or other sources), co-Produce (involving alliances to manufacture a product) and co-Build (building policies on programmes for right economic environment and growth).
Dr Mukesh Batra Chairman and MD, Dr Batra’s Positive Health Clinic Pvt Ltd
The researchers have confirmed the healthy, healing benefits of Homeopathy. There have also been scores of new clinical trials and studies on homoeopathy testing its efficacy on a host of ailments, right from acne, diabetes, hypertension and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to diseases of children and women. More than 100 million people in our country depend solely on the Homeopathic form of medical treatment. According to a survey by A C Neilsen, 62 per cent of current homoeopathy users, in India, have never tried conventional medicines, while 82 per cent of homoeopathy users would not switch to conventional medical treatment. Also, today, many Homeopathic pharmacies/pharmaceuticals are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). This is, of course, a state subject — implementation, therefore, varies from one state to another. While India follows the Indian Homeopathic Pharmacopeia, Germany follows the German Homeopathic Pharmacopeia. R&D initiatives: In the past 24 years, there have been over 180 controlled and 118 randomised trials in Homeopathy, analysed by meta-analyses. Dr Batra opines, “In each case, the researchers confirmed the healthy, healing benefits of Homeopathy. There have also been scores of new clinical trials and studies on homoeopathy — testing its efficacy on a host of ailments, right from acne, anxiety, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to diseases of children and women.” Besides, several researches (evidence-based medicine) are going on in the above-mentioned areas. Growth impediments: Unlike the conventional medicines, the availability of Homeopathic medicines is a big challenge for the system. While some Multinational Companies (MNCs) manufacture good, quality Homeopathic medicines and products, the availability of these
medicines is restricted to only a few major outlets. For instance, there are extremely effective and safe Homeopathic Overthe-Counter (OTC) products for diseases like cold & flu. However, Homeopathic OTC products are not so well marketed as Ayurvedic OTC products. Avers Dr Batra, “Homeopathic OTC products should be available everywhere. Once their reach is augmented, they have the potential to help people, right from the grassroot level. Moreover, a sustained and longterm marketing and distribution thrust should be our single, large goal in order to overcome these challenges.” The other objective should be education. In India, there are 180 professional Homeopathic medical colleges , most of which need to standardise their facilities. Such standardisation of the education system will help to enhance the quality of education.
Future outlook With wider acceptance of quality & safety attributes, alternative systems such as Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and herbal medicines are now calling for attention from a large number of people in India. Today, the word ‘wellness’ is fast catching, not only because of health awareness, but also because people want to look young and remain fit & energetic. Hence, in future, alternative medicines, especially herbal medicines like anti-oxidants, anti-aging, immunomodulators, etc, will have a huge market. With time, R&D efforts will enhance better production of alternative medicines and this domain will have a brighter future, opines industry experts.
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B I OT E C H N O LO GY
Biomedical instruments
For a better tomorrow
Courtesy: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
There is a need for developing smart medical instruments and devices that can quickly & precisely produce investigational results to enable diagnosis at an earlier stage, leading to effective and timely management of diseases. These demands can be fulfilled with the help of biomedical engineering – a field that involves application of engineering principles & techniques to medicine, and diminishes the gap between engineering & medicine as well as aims to improve the healthcare diagnosis & treatment. that will continue till an accurate diagnosis is made and the mode of treatment is decided. The solution in such cases would be the availability of smart instruments that would enable easy detection of the cause of a disease, resulting in an early and effective treatment of the patient.
Components of biomedical field
AbioCor implantable replacement heart
Sanjeev Saxena general scenario of a doctor-patient interaction may have a patient walking into the doctor’s clinic complaining of severe headache, which recurs even after taking Aspirin. The doctor prescribes a few medicines to the patient and asks him to go home and relax. The patient follows the instructions, but returns to the doctor a few days later with the same complaint of recurring headache to which he is again advised to follow the older prescription. This goes on for a few more days. As the symptoms persist and are not ameliorated by the prescribed medicines, the doctor finally orders some investigations to diagnose the right cause. After briefing the patient on the findings, the doctor explains him the line of treatment for the same. The predicament of the above mentioned case is the extended period during which the patient had to bear the pain without any relief, and the suffering
a
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There are three critical components in the new biomedical field: the centres, the physicians and the instruments. In the recent years, the world has witnessed a proliferation of clinics, medical centres and hospitals all equipped with highly advanced state-of-art medical instrumentation. This in turn, has resulted in the need for highly qualified personnel capable of installing, operating and maintaining these medical instruments. But the advancing age of the population around the world increases the pressure on the community for higher productivity that demands people to lead healthier and more productive lives. This calls for the development and implementation of new instruments v To make early diagnosis of an ailment for deciding a treatment plan will demand the use of investigational tests that give higher accuracy by using more automation and less human intervention, and also, may need the use of intervention systems for surgery and treatment automation will hasten the recovery of a patient v To produce next generation test based on the identification of the human genome and the proteome v To scale up and manufacture highly effective drugs
The need The current developments in biomedical instrumentation encompass both engineering science and applied engineering in an order to define and solve
BIOTECHNOLOGY
problems in medical research and clinical medicine to bring about an improvement in overall quality of healthcare. These instruments utilise artificial intelligence or neural networks / learning systems that are trained through mathematical modelling in anatomy, physiology, and medicine, as well as engineering. A wide variety of instrumentation is available to the physician and surgeon to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and other malfunctions in the body. Considerable developments have been made in instrumentation in order to extend and improve the quality of life. The primary objective in the development of medical instrumentation is to obtain the required results with minimal invasion of the body. There is a need for new instruments based on current and future advances in the healthcare solutions through amalgamation of various disciplines like biotechnology, medical instruments, diagnostics, etc to obtain relevant solutions for life threatening diseases like cancer, cardiac diseases and age-related disorders.
Biomedical engineering and its sub-disciplines Biomedical Engineering (BME) research combines engineering expertise with medical needs for the advancement and enhancement of the healthcare system. It is a multidisciplinary branch of engineering that utilises the knowledge in biology and skills in engineering, in combination, to resolve the fundamental problems in medicine as well as inspire the development of new diagnostic instruments, medical devices and therapies. Today, BME research is broadening the frontiers of science and technology by developing new tools & techniques. This would help solve some of the most challenging problems in the fields of biology and medicine. BME is a highly interdisciplinary field that is influenced by as well as overlaps with various other engineering and medical fields. This often happens with newly emerging disciplines as they gradually arise after evolving from specialised applications of extant disciplines. Due to this diversity, it is typical for a biomedical engineer to
focus on a particular subfield or group of related subfields. There are many different taxonomic subcategories within BME, as well as differing views about the best to organise them and manage any internal overlap. However, it is a generally accepted practice to define the various disciplines of BME as biomechatronics; bioinstrumentation; biomaterials; biomechanics; bionics; cellular, tissue & genetic engineering; clinical engineering; medical imaging; orthopaedic bioengineering; rehabilitation engineering; systems physiology; and/ or bionanotechnology. Occasionally, disciplines within BME are classified by their association(s) with other, more established engineering fields, like chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering.
Today, BME research is broadening the frontiers of science and technology by developing new tools & techniques. This would help solve some of the most challenging problems in the fields of biology and medicine. Contributions of biomedical devices The biomedical devices developed currently can communicate with multiple wireless biodevices controlled via a network of interrogator devices that form a network of sensors or a wireless instrumentation network. Desirable functions for sensor nodes include easy installation, self-identification, selfdiagnosis, reliability, awareness of time for co-ordination with other nodes, some software functions, standard control protocols and network interfaces. An extremely important contribution of BME is rehabilitation engineering, which deals with the design and development of artificial organs & prosthetic devices, which
replace or enhance the function of missing, inoperative or inadequate natural organs or parts of the body. The major goal here is to develop small, self-contained, implantable artificial organs whose functions are similar to those of the natural organs that they can permanently supersede. The goal of rehabilitation engineering is to increase the quality of life for the disabled. One major part of this field is directed towards strengthening the existing but debilitated motor functions through the use of specialised devices and procedures that control exercising of the muscles involved. And the other part of this field, with its devices, enables people with disability to function better and lead normal lives. The devices that aid people suffering from visually and hearing impairments can be included here. Human factors engineering is a field of study that enables modification of the environment at home and workplace to accommodate the special needs of individuals with disability, which again will not be possible without the advent of biomedical devices. The new-age medical device would be nanotechnology for medical imaging. Some examples of the new-age biomedical instruments already available in the market or those undergoing development are artificial hip; prosthetic eye; artificial limb; artificial heart; liver grown using tissue engineering; a real-time automated instrument for detection, diagnosis & delivery of drug for cancer; a combined cell culture & purification tool; and, possibly, a robot with sensory perception. With such new-age devices already being used, the instruments featured in today’s science fiction movies are no longer hypothetical, but will be a reality in the future. Sanjeev Saxena is Chairman & Chief Promoter of Actis Biologics Group of Companies. He has over 18 years of business development and sales & marketing experience in the bio-pharmaceutical industry. Email: ssanjeev@actisbiologics.com
June 2010
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RETAIL ZONE
Disease management
The next big thing in pharma retail A few years back the abbreviation DM commonly represented Disaster Management. But with the impact of diseases no lesser than any disaster, today DM also stands for Disease Management. With many other healthcare sectors incorporating disease management plans, it is now time for the pharmacy business to do the same. This article explores disease management as the next big thing in pharmacy business that would revolutionise the conventional model of selling medicines to the selling of the services.
Courtesy: Perham Memorial Hospital and Home
Rajendra Pratap Gupta n India, pharmacies are known as chemist shops where pharmacists, who are generally considered as salesmen, dispense medicines to their customers. Every pharmacy sells the same medicine making it no different from the others. With the entry of a few international chains in the market that believe in making a difference by providing more than just products, this traditional concept of simply selling medicines is soon set to change. Every established pharmacy has a medley of customers, usually comprising the regular and walk in consumers. Senior citizens, who are on one or multiple chronic therapies, and those suffering from chronic diseases can be placed in the list of regular customers. These customers account for 60-80 per cent of the total pharmacy sales and are also one of the biggest impulse
i
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buyers for the Over-The-Counter (OTC) and non-pharma products from the pharmacy. The other group of customers includes those who reside in other areas and might walk in to fulfill some health requirement or with a prescription for some acute symptom. Again, each chronic customer takes medicines for 54 weeks in a year as compared to the customer with an acute disease, who may require a prescription for a maximum of a week or two. Moreover, the medicines taken by chronic patients can be more expensive, thus, making the prescription value of a chronic patient 52-53 times higher in a year than a patient with acute problem. Chronic disease customers are important for the success of any pharmacy and these customers need more than just medicines to manage their disease. Some of the services that can be of immense value for these customers include: v More information on medication & management of a disease v Tips on lifestyle & diet v Instant diagnosis at the pharmacy or at their home (home care) v Personalised knowledge and support for treatment of their condition
The solution The solution to the above problem lies in offering DM or Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programmes at pharmacies. Several DM companies operating in India, along with almost every customer using a cell phone has led to a technology enabling affordable DM programme that can be immensely helpful to the chronic
RETAIL ZONE
patients. Starting DM programme as early as possible might prove as a worthwhile consideration for the existing pharmacy chains and independent pharmacies. Further, a few US based companies have already set their offices in India. In future if more US-based companies enter the market then there is a possibility of the customers directly enrolling with them. In such cases it is likely that customers will go to the empanelled pharmacies, and thus, India will witness the entry of Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) companies. This will leave very less choice for the pharmacists or chemists to act on, therefore, it is now the right time to initiate DM at pharmacies.
Getting started The pharmacies must start with free-ofcost measurement of parameters like Body Mass Index (BMI), which can be easily done by using a weighing scale and measuring tape. All customers having a BMI above 23 should be advised to meet their family doctor. The pharmacy should also carry out a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) based on the genetic predisposition of the individual, dietary habits, life style, etc. After completion of HRA, it becomes relatively easy for the customer to learn and get sensitised to the importance of enrolling in such DM programmes that suit their needs. There are companies operating in India who offer complete HRA, remote monitoring and DM programmes based on the local Indian diet & lifestyle. This will not just establish patient compliance but also strengthen the relationship between the patient and pharmacy. Thus, there will be creation of an additional source of revenue for the pharmacy, and the customer will have a single point of care for most of the routine products that a chronic patient needs for the management of his/her disorder.
Impact of the DM model In 2008, S W Deshpande was elected the President of Indian Pharmacy Congress, and the idea of doing a pilot with pharmacists & pharmacies on the role
pharmacies can play in the management of chronic diseases got conceptualised by the team Project Concern that was implemented by the All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation under his leadership. Findings of the Project Concern were released in the Indian Pharmaceutical congress at Ahmedabad in December 2009. Further illustrated is a case study for the implementation of the DM programme in the management of chronic diseases. A three-month pilot study was conducted with a few community pharmacists to assess the improvement of healthcare delivery system at pharmacies for conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure and tuberculosis (TB). All pharmacists underwent a training programme, after which 10 were selected each from
Chronic disease customers are important for the success of any pharmacy, and these customers need more than just medicines for managing their disease.
Inference The outcome of the study showed that in 60 days, 31 pharmacists examined 1,000 patients and relatives, of which 307 patients were examined thrice. Of these, 135 patients with confirmed diabetes, despite being on medication, showed high blood sugar level. But during the study, 99 (74 per cent) of these patients showed better management of blood sugar level. Similarly, 135 patients with confirmed hypertension, even after taking medicines, had blood pressure on a higher side. But during the study, 114 (84 per cent) of the patients showed better management of blood pressure. Of the 611 relatives examined, 19 and 15 were already diagnosed for blood pressure & diabetes, respectively, but neither took medicines regularly nor some even continued medicine. Finally, 38 and 28 relatives showed deviations in the blood pressure & blood sugar levels, respectively. Owing to the social stigma attached to TB, patients with TB were reluctant to discuss with the pharmacists and were not co-operative. Hence, the data for only 37 TB patients were received, which was statistically insignificant.
Conclusion
Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad, Kolhapur and Aurangabad. Of a total of 60 pharmacists selected, 54 (90 per cent) attended the training. These pharmacists were provided with weighing balance, measuring tape, digital blood pressure monitor and digital glucose monitoring machine. Five patients from each selected disease segment were identified. Their profiles relevant to the disease were taken with an appointment for taking the readings at regular intervals. The patients along with the family members were also attended at their residence. Further, readings of the selected patient were taken every 30 days for three months. Pharmacists advised the patients on taking medicines regularly, changing lifestyle and consulting the doctor.
The fact that 74 per cent of the patients suffering from diabetes, and 84 per cent of those ailing from blood pressure showed improvement is a testimony that pharmacists and pharmacies can play an important role in the management of chronic diseases. Hence, pharmacies have proved to be the right place to start a DM programme. Rajendra Pratap Gupta is an International Healthcare Expert & Speaker, and is on the board of several companies in the US & India across retail, hospital chains, disease management, pharma R&D, diagnostics and biotechnology, among others. Email: mail@rajendragupta.org
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Pharma R&D
In pursuit of excellence With a number of drugs about to go off patent in the next few years and very few new drugs in the pipeline, the pharmaceutical industry is moving towards a rapid decline in productivity. A widening gap between the discovery & approval of new drugs is the main challenge that the industry faces today. To counter, it has adopted some measures and practices. Here is an analytical insight into the solutions, which may prove beneficial in improving the productivity of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D segments in the coming years. increase, but it is not reflected in the number of new drug approvals. In 1999, the launch of a drug costed less than $ 1 billion, while in 2007, this cost had increased to $ 3.5 billion. Also, the negative pricing and reimbursement pressures are adding to the difficulties of the pharma companies that attempt to generate high revenues from their novel drugs. With the patents for key blockbuster drugs set to expire within the next five years and a clear lack of potential blockbusters in the current pharmaceutical industry pipeline, industry experts are now looking for ways to mitigate the risks and improve their ROI on R&D expenditure.
Measures to improve R&D
esearch & Development (R&D) has always remained an integral part of the pharmaceutical industry. However, its declining productivity has raised concerns among key stakeholders of the industry. One of the simplest, yet most important, indicators of the declining Return On Investment (ROI) is the ever-increasing gap between the R&D expenditure and the number of new drug approvals, especially since 1996. The R&D expenditure of the industry was about $ 21.9 billion after the approval of 53 New Molecular Entities (NMEs) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996. Though the R&D expenditure almost doubled to $ 42.3 billion in less than six years, there were only 17 NME approvals in this span of time. The R&D expenditure has shown a steady
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The industry has taken several measures to address the challenge of declining R&D productivity, but the results obtained are not substantial. One of the most extensive measures taken has been acquisition of small pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies with specialised R&D capabilities and a promising pipeline drug candidates of the acquirer’s interest. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed significant consolidations with some of the largest mergers of the decade, eg, Pfizer-Wyeth, Roche-Genentech and MerckSchering-Plough. Pharmaceutical companies have also significantly restructured their R&D processes to realign their focus with the key strategic therapeutic areas while divesting from non-core areas of business. Other measures taken include outsourcing clinical and pre-clinical drug search to Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and better lifecycle management of the existing drugs.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
However, none of the measures have generated the desired results so far, as R&D productivity continues to remain a matter of concern for pharma companies. Critics view mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as a temporary solution with no evidence of long-term gains in terms of R&D output or improved ROI on the R&D costs. On the other hand, R&D restructuring has gained pace only recently to show results. Outsourcing R&D to CROs and drug discovery companies in emerging countries can provides cost benefits, but this advantage is partially offset by the increase in failure rates. Other solutions such as lifecycle management have their own limitations in terms of safeguarding the company revenues against the declining R&D productivity. Thus, no solution, so far, has been able to effectively counter the challenge of declining R&D productivity.
Information technology in R&D With the emergence of complex diseases and increasing difficulty in target identification, greater technological intervention is necessary in the key R&D processes, such as discovery, pre-clinical and phase I/II stages of clinical research so as to make significant process improvements. Virtual reality, computer modelling, Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) systems, Clinical Data Management System (CDMS), Clinical Trial Management System/Electronic Data Capture (CTMS/EDC) and many other technologies are now playing a major role in R&D. These technologies allow better and more accurate management of R&D processes by automation and easy handling of certain key R&D processes. Significant process improvements in preclinical/discovery research and early-stage development can considerably reduce the late-stage development failures, which are important while taking into account the cost pressures currently faced by the pharmaceutical industry. Further, the greatest benefit of information technology will be its ability to enable knowledge sharing across the R&D value chain that can help in achieving all the key steps for the success of R&D, which include progressing the right pre-clinical candidate for clinical development, better clinical trial design, taking an early & accurate decision to terminate compounds and preparing an exhaustive & highquality dossier for regulatory submission. Thus, in future, information technology is expected to play an important role in improving the pharmaceutical R&D processes to generate better ROIs. However, other measures such as improved clinical trial designs, greater collaboration with external research partners, such as academicians and core research companies, and also a better therapeutic focus to maximise the benefits of information technology in R&D processes, will also be undertaken. Courtesy: GBI Research
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TECHNOFOCUS
Lean manufacturing
Way to eliminate waste and enhance quality Increasing material costs and decreasing engineering resources have resulted in the emergence of the concept of lean manufacturing. The method yields a high throughput & optimum quality by using minimum inventory and identifies & eliminates all wastes from the system, thus helping manufacturers compete & survive in the global market. ‘In-line solids into liquids mixing’ is a method that utilises two principles of lean manufacturing — flow & perfection, for mixing solids into liquids in order to improve productivity as well as quality.
Quadro Ytron® ZC Powder Disperser (Single-pass dispersion of difficult-to-wet powders) Dramatic powder incorporation and batch time savings
Stephen Russell-Hill ean manufacturing can be defined as a production practice, which follows a systematic approach to identify and eliminate wastes through continuous improvement. It is a manufacturing strategy that enables production of a high level of throughput with the use of minimum inventory. A waste is defined as anything that does not add value to a product, and lean manufacturing aims to eliminate such wastes. This method enables manufacturers to gain a competitive edge by reducing costs and increasing quality,
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thereby allowing them to be more responsive to customers’ demands. Lean manufacturing seeks to provide optimum quality by building a method, whereby each part is tested immediately after manufacturing. Further, if a defect occurs, the production line is stopped to detect the problem at the earliest possible time. In the past years, lean manufacturing has become increasingly popular in the manufacturing arena. Manufacturers have begun embracing the concept of lean thinking to ensure their own survival due to factors, such as a slowing global economy, increasing costs of input materials, increasing rationalisation of production facilities and the influx of inexpensive products from overseas. Moreover, the increase of material costs coupled with the decrease in engineering resources and overloaded work schedules have prompted manufacturers to turn towards their equipment suppliers in order to help them develop & implement processes, which utilise the benefits of lean manufacturing by providing solutions that promote its principles. One such solution is single-pass, in-line mixing of powders into liquids, as liquid processors are especially susceptible to the above-mentioned factors.
Conventional mixing methods In conventional mixing methods, powders are generally directly added to a liquid process in a vessel with some type or combination of mixing devices in the vessel.
TECHNOFOCUS
There are two common methods for adding the powders. The first method involves manually dumping powder from bags directly into the vessel. This is a slow process requiring transport of bags to the top of the mixing vessel, usually on pallets. But this method presents several risks to health and safety of workers. First, the operator is exposed to vessel vapour head while dumping the powders into the tank. Second, the operator must lift and dump bags, which increases the potential for physical injury. Finally, contamination of the work area with powder during the process creates a risk for all the workers in the area. The second method involves conveying powder in some form of bulk storage [super sac, Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC), silo, etc] to the top of the vessel and then adding the powder into the vessel. The bulk can be conveyed on a mechanical screw conveyor, or by some form of pneumatic conveying. Though the method offers a comparatively clean environment in the wet process area and a safe environment for the operator, it requires additional equipment. Further, the discharge area from conveyor to process vessel is prone to build-up, especially if the liquid process is hot (water vapour/steam). While some of the problems with the above mentioned methods can be eliminated by using various technologies, the major drawback of conventional mixing cannot be overcome. In conventional mixing, the addition of solids to the liquid surface creates inherent mixing problems like floating powders, lump formation and air entrainment. This results in longer processing times, waste material due to build-up on walls, vessel cleaning requirements and filtering requirement downstream of batch.
Single-pass, in-line powder dispersing into liquids Single-pass incorporation of powder capitalises on the benefits of inline processing, which involves the introduction of the powder phase into
the liquid phase during process of piping. In-line mixing can be achieved by various methods – a device located in the pipeline between two vessels, in the water fill line leading to a batch tank, in a re-circulation loop with a tank or simply part of a continuous processing line without tanks. Single-pass, in-line mixing of powders into liquids can efficiently control the introduction of powders and apply only the amount of shear that is necessary for specific behavioural characteristics of the
Single-pass, in-line processing can help manufacturers realise tangible benefits through the elimination of wastes, downtime, long batch times and excessive energy costs while producing a consistent product the first time.
In addition, energy requirements are also decreased as the applied focusses on generating uniform, lumpfree dispersions and is not wasted on re-circulating multiple passages of fluid through an in-tank dispersing mechanism. Hence, single-pass, in-line processing eliminates buildup on the tank wall, mixer shaft and baffles. This reduces downtime, as it decreases tank cleaning time, lowers the possibility of crosscontamination and virtually eliminates ingredient wastage. Perfection: This principle results in consistent product generation and repeatable batch-to-batch processing. Over-processing of the products to remove lumps is eliminated, making it advantageous for heat-or shear-sensitive products. Further, poorly mixed products usually require filtering to remove inconsistencies from the product. This technique eliminates or reduces the need for filtering the final product, rendering it a more uniform nature. In addition, it ensures continuous supply of the same product to the customer.
Future perspectives powders. This is accomplished without setting up the powder dispersing device in a re-circulation loop with a tank. This can effectively prevent many of the issues raised with in-tank mixing. This method yields numerous significant benefits, while addressing two principles of lean manufacturing – flow and perfection. Flow: This principle reduces batch times. There is no need to wait for wetting floating powders, as powders can be introduced and dispersed into the liquid during filling operation of the vessel. Also, equipment requirements decrease in two ways. First, a single in-line device can be used to feed several batch tanks. Hence, carrying a high-shear mixer to each process vessel is not required. Second, installation of expensive deaerating devices and tank vortexing are also not needed. This causes significantly less air to enter the process fluid.
In the present scenario, lean manufacturing can provide real, tangible benefits to manufacturers. Single-pass, in-line processing can help manufacturers realise tangible benefits through the elimination of wastes, downtime, long batch times and excessive energy costs while producing a consistent product the first time. These forms of savings, combined with the other principles of lean manufacturing, will help manufacturers compete in the global market and survive even in the times of economic slowdown. Stephen Russell-Hill is Vice President of Quadro Engineering’s Liquids Division and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Email: srussellhill@quadro.com
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CURTAIN RAISER
ARC’s Eighth India Forum
Platform to drive business excellence A forum on ‘Achieving Business Excellence through IT and Automation Solutions’ will be organised by ARC Advisory Group at Novotel Hyderabad during July 14-17, 2010. Over 250 key decision makers from leading companies are expected to participate and explore avenues for business excellence. Sumedha Mahorey provides a preview.
ith the economic slowdown behind us, the Indian economy seems to be back on track. Companies are now focussing on being competitive by adding capacities and improving profitability. Considering the importance of sharing knowledge and networking, ARC Advisory Group will be organising the Forum ‘Achieving Business Excellence through IT and Automation Solutions’ during July 14-17, 2010, at Novotel, Hyderabad. The forum, divided into two parts, will cater to different industry verticals. The first programme (July 14-15) - ‘Driving Innovation, Sustainability, and Performance for Electric Power and Water Industries’ - will be focussing on electric power and water industries. The second (July 16-17) - ‘Driving Innovation, Sustainability, and Performance for Process and Batch Industries’ - will be on process and batch
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industries. The second programme, targetting the Process & Batch industries, will focus and deliberate on investments in automation, safety, plant asset management and other such systems, which will be driven by strategic considerations in the future. Thought leaders and speakers from leading companies will be evaluating plantlevel automation systems, required to provide input to enterprise decision-making support systems, as business enablers. These systems are needed to automate the plant and help owner operators in maximising revenues, profits and returns on plant assets. Informs Rajabahadur Arcot, General Manager, ARC India, “We bring industry thought leaders under one platform to discuss and deliberate upon the technology solutions that enable companies to gain sustainable competitive advantages and empower them to pursue the goal of operational excellence. The focus of the forum is on strategic issues, business drivers and technology trends,”
Forum objectives With the pharmaceutical plant operation becoming more complex & challenging, plants need to deal with renovation and migration issues. New grassroot plants need to evaluate systems according to compliance with emerging standards including those based on interoperability and technological developments. They also have to maximise the return on their existing assets by reducing the downtime and gear up to operate under a new ecosystem, where profit margins are to be earned by reducing the operational costs.
CURTAIN RAISER
Process manufacturing companies should also focus on becoming more efficient users of energy & input materials, and, thereby eliminate all unnecessary costs. This can be achieved by leveraging manufacturing IT solutions, which effectively reduce operational expenses, achieve supply chain efficiencies, improve return on assets, enhance productivity and demand fulfillment. The forum will deal with these issues in detail and help in tracking technology developments that impact process manufacturing companies. Further, the forum is structured to provide answers to challenging issues confronting pharmaceutical manufacturing verticals. In addition, the forum will provide industry professionals the opportunity to interact with peers and industry thought leaders on successful strategies that are helping them to drive performance & growth. These company-specific strategies and the means of leveraging technologies help companies gain sustainable competitiveness and emerge with best-in-class performance. Currently, the industry needs to be ready for the opportunity, when it arrives and even have the necessary tools to carry out operations. Here, the industry needs to use innovative concepts and solutions in order to compete in today’s dynamic global economy. Industrial facilities are built to operate over many decades and are highly capital
Forum’s focus areas v Manufacturing IT solutions for pharmaceutical, chemical, oil & gas, cement & glass, metals & mining, pulp & paper and food & beverage industries v Asset life cycle management v Energy management v MES: Imperatives and challenges v Project engineering solutions v Industry tracks: Pharamaceutical, chemical, oil & gas, cement & glass, metals & mining, pulp & paper and food & beverage industries
intensive. Maintaining & managing these assets throughout the plant lifecycle plays an important role in realising the returns, and also the role of asset management systems has to be recognised. IT & automation solutions for operations & energy management, asset management, process and safety management play an important role in helping companies achieve excellence. Moreover, achieving excellence is the roadmap for companies seeking sustainable competitiveness.
Key takeaways The Indian economy has emerged from the global economic crisis more or less unscathed, largely because of its healthy domestic demand. Though this trend augurs well for the growth of the industrial companies in India, they have to reckon with the reality that the demand-centric Indian market will lure leading global companies. Globally, many industries are saddled with excess production capacities, and these are the industries that are set to witness massive expansion in India. Networking forums such as the ARC event showcase the best practices & successful strategies for the industry, and help to drive the growth prospects in the industry. The ARC forum will bring together executives from manufacturing companies & technology solution providers and the user & supplier communities to network, as well as exchange thoughts on industry challenges and business & technology trends. Various speakers at the event will share their thoughts on how companies have become more agile & responsive to market dynamics and have achieved
facility and enterprise-level optimisation by leveraging enabling technologies. The speakers will further elaborate on the derived benefits through case studies and presentations and cite real-world instances to show the success of the same. Topics to be discussed at the forum are energy management, asset lifecycle management, manufacturing execution systems, advance process controls, simulators for operator training & engineering, project and engineering management including virtual commissioning, emission monitoring & control systems, automation legacy system migration and green manufacturing. Vertical industry focussed systems and solutions such as PAT, PLM, LIMS and MES for pharmaceutical industries will be discussed in the two-day forum. In addition, two sessions on ‘Winning Strategies for Project Performance Management (PPM)’ and ‘Winning Strategies for Asset Performance Management (APM)’ will be held on July 15 at the same venue. These sessions aim at creating awareness among the manufacturers about controlling production cost while protecting their margins and driving performance by effectively leveraging automation & enterprise technology solutions. Over 250 key decision makers from leading companies are expected to participate in the forum this year. Top executives from leading pharma companies including Aurobindo Pharma, Jubilant Organosys, Dr Reddy’s, Ranbaxy, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Industries etc had participated in the forum last year to gain new business insights.
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EVENTS CALENDAR
National
Pune
Ahmedabad
Indore
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
Chennai Tamil Nadu
Nov 19-22, 2010
Dec 17-20, 2010
Feb 18-21, 2011
Mar 04-06, 2011
India’s premier industrial trade fair on products and technologies from machine tools, fluid power, instrumentation & control, electrical & electronics, material handling, plastics, rubber, packaging, chemical, CAD/CAM, auto components, and general engineering.
For details contact:
Engineering Expo Infomedia 18 Limited, Ruby House, 1st Floor, J K Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. Tel: 022-3003 4649, Fax: 022-3003 4499 Email: shamal@infomedia18.in, Website: www.engg-expo.com
Process Industry Forum The theme of the event is ‘Achieving business excellence through automation and enterprise solutions in electric power, process & batch industries’. It will enable senior executives from pharma industry to develop and implement automation and enterprise strategies; July 14-17, 2010; at Hyderabad For details contact: ARC Advisory Group Tel: +91-80-2554 7116 Email: prakasha@ARCweb.com Website: www.arcweb.com
SCM Pharma India 2010 A conference on specific supply chain management issues affecting Indian pharmaceutical companies. The topics to be covered at the event include cold chain management, integrated end-to-end supply chain management, partnering with 3PL & 4PL operators, transportation & logistics management, warehousing and inventory management, and SCM tools & technologies; August 26-27, 2010; at The Westin Mumbai Garden City, Mumbai For details contact: UBM India Pvt Ltd, Mumbai
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Tel: +91 (022) 6612 2600 Fax: +91 (022) 6769 2462 Email: jennifer.tsao@ubm.com Website: www.ndds-india.com/index.asp
Fax: +91 11 30910411 Email: ficciexhibition@ficci.com Website: www.indiachem.in
P-MEC India 2010 PROMACH 2010 An exhibition featuring cutting-edge technologies and process plant & machinery for an array of industries including the pharmaceutical industry; October 01-04, 2010; at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru For details contact: Bangalore International Exhibition Services Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru Tel: +91-80-65833234 Email: dayanand@bies.co.in Website: www.bies.co.in
An exhibition showcasing stateof-the-art pharma machinery and equipment for pharmaceutical operations; December 01-03, 2010; at Bombay Exhibition Centre - NSE Exhibition Complex, Mumbai For details contact: CMP India (UBM India Pvt Ltd), Mumbai Tel: +91 22 66122600 Fax: +91 22 66122626 Email: deepalim@ubmindia.com Website: www.pmec-india.com
Plastivision India 2011 India Chem 2010 An international exhibition & conference on pharmaceuticals, chemcials, plastics and process plant machinery; October 28-30, 2010; at Bombay Exhibition Centre - NSE Exhibition Complex, Mumbai For details contact: F I CC I ( Fe d e r a t i o n o f I n d i a n Chambers of Commerce & Industry), New Delhi Tel: +91 11 23738760-70
June 2010
An exhibition organised by AIPMA, Plastivision India 2011 is the eighth in series, and this event will highlight the key developments & growth of the plastics industry; January 20-24, 2011, at NSE Complex, Mumbai For details contact: AIPMA, Mumbai Tel: +91-22-67778899 Fax:+91-22-28252295 Email: marketing@plastivision.org Website: www.plastivision.org
EVENTS CALENDAR
International Drug Discovery Technology – USA The four conferences taking place at IBC’s Drug Discovery & Development Week will highlight the unprecedented explosion of new research and applications being announced almost daily in the fields of cancer genomics, cancer drug development, antibody therapeutics and next-generation sequencing applications in drug/diagnostic development; August 02-04, 2010; at San Francisco, CA For details contact: IBC USA Conferences Inc, Westborough Tel: +1 (508) 616-5550 Fax+1 (508) 616-5522 Email: custserv@ibcusa.com Website: www.drugdisc.com
Analytica China 2010 A conference devoted to laboratory technology, analysis/quality control, biotechnology and life sciences, which brings together decisionmakers from leading biotechnology, pharmaceutical and investment companies. The event will assemble a large number of visitors and exhibitors related to laboratorytechnology sector from all over the world; September 15-17, 2010; at Shanghai, China For details contact: Messe München, Germany Tel: +49 (89) 9 49-2 07 20 Fax+49 (89) 9 49-2 07 29 Email: info@messe-muenchen.de Website: http://www.analyticachina.com
SIPEC 2010 A pharmaceutical trade show that provides a good opportunity to network and generate new clients, while gaining an insight into the developments in
the industry; September 28-30, 2010; at Parc des expositions d’Orléans, France For details contact: Sipec, France Tel: +33 (0)2 38 95 30 49 Fax: +33 (0)2 38 95 24 29 Email: infos@sipec.net Website: www.sipec.net
For details contact: WUV (Werbe- und Vertriebsgesellschaft Deutscher Apotheker mbH), Germany Tel: +49 (0)6196 - 928 412 Fax: +49 (0)6196 - 928 404 Email: besucher@expopharm.de Website: www.expopharm.de
FoodPharmaTech 2010
BIOTECHNICA 2010 An event for the biotechnology and lifesciences industries. It covers various elements in the field of biotechnology, including f u n d a m e n t a l s, equipment and bioinformatics & services. An opportunity for associated people to find new customers and partners for their products & services and to network with various professionals from the industry; October 05-07, 2010; at Deutsche Messe Hannover, Germany For details contact: Deutsche Messe AG Hannover, Germany Tel: +49 (0)511 89 0 Fax: +49 (0)511 89 32626 Email: info@messe.de Website: www.messe.de
An international trade fair for machinery, packaging and ingredients of the pharma as well as food industries. This year’s event will focus on four areas - efficient production, product safety, energy & environment and knowledge sharing. Professionals from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and cosmetic sectors are expected to be present at the event; November 2-4, 2010; at Exhibition Centre Herning, Denmark For details contact: Messecenter Herning, Denmark Tel: +45 99 26 99 26 Fax: +45 99 26 99 00 Email: mch@mch.dk Website: www.foodpharmatech.dk
Bio-Europe 2010
Expopharm 2010 An exhibition highlighting the current trends and developments in the pharmaceutical sector. More than 500 exhibitors from diverse fields catering to the pharma industry are expected to be present at the event. The event presents an ideal opportunity to network with different visitors and generate new contacts; October 7-10, 2010; at Munich, Germany
Considered to be one of Europe’s largest partnering conferences, the event attracts biotechnology and pharmaceuticals professionals. It provides an ideal opportunity to identify and enter into strategic relationship with companies of interest; November 15-17, 2010; at International Congress Centre, Munich (ICM) For details contact: Bio (Biotechnology Industry Organization) Tel: +1 (202) 962 9200 Fax: +1 (202) 488 6301 Email: cbeckman@bio.org Website: www.ebdgroup.com
The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective organiser. In any case, it does not represent the views of Modern Pharmaceuticals
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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Technology Offered this section provides a means to promote and facilitate exchange of select technologies. We strive to bring together suppliers of such technologies with suitable users for negotiations and industrial collaboration. Anti-ulceritic APIs An Indian company offers anti ulcer drugs like omeprazole, pantaprazole, omeprazole sodium, omeprazole magnesium and esomeprazole magnesium for operations in manufacturing processes. Areas of application Formulation industries Forms of transfer Consultancy
Natural preparation for anxiety relief A company offers food supplement in the form of tablets that effectively relieves mild to moderate anxiety problems. The ingredient is an herbal extract, which has been scientifically proved for its efficacy. Efficient decrease of anxiety symptoms, quick onset of action and no side effects are reported to be the advantages of this product. Moreover, this product has already been launched in American market. Areas of application Pharmaceutical industry Forms of transfer Equipment supply
Clorsulon and its intermediates An Indian company offers clorsulon, a highly potent anthelmintic drug, which is administered to de-worm the intestines of sheep and cattle. Areas of application Pharmaceutical industry
Forms of transfer Consultancy
Filter cleaning system An Indian company offers an automatic filter media cleaning equipment with drying system. It consists of air wash, water wash, and drying facilities. Areas of application Filter media cleaning Forms of transfer Joint venture, equipment supply
Herbal formulation for psoriasis and eczema An Indian company offers an innovative herbal formulation that has the ability to control & cure psoriasis and eczema within one month of application of the formulation. Areas of application Herbal medicine Forms of transfer Joint venture, technical services, technology licensing
Intravenous fluids An Indian company offers the technology for the production of intravenous fluids (IV). The company has a large volume IV plant and can offer complete support for setting up a new IV plant. Investment required for the fully automatic plant is around Rs 15 crore. The company can offer consultancy services/technical support to set up an IV plant on loan and license basis initially. Later, the collaborating party
can set up its own factory when it is ready for investments. Areas of application Pharmaceutical industry Forms of transfer Joint venture, technical services
Purified microfine red sanders wood powder An Indian company offers red sanders wood, which is a precious crude drug in the ayurvedic system of treatment. Pulverising by conventional technologies generates very high temperature, which in turn leads to high ash in the sanders wood powder. Red sanders powder so produced will be rich in drug and colour values. The powder will be microfine and free from ash and other impurities. Red sanders wood powder is used to apply on the face and skin to remove chicken pox marks, marks from burns, skin discolourations and pimples. It is also used to add in several drugs, processed foods, cosmetics and toiletries. The powder can be exported in large quantities as a valueadded item. The technology for microfine pulverising of red sanders wood was developed with the support of DSIR, under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Areas of application Ayurvedic pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries Forms of transfer Turnkey, others
Share Your Technology Propositions The mission of Modern Pharmaceuticals is to spread the technology culture. We offer you an opportunity to participate in this endeavour by publishing the best technology ideas. Technology developers/sellers are invited to furnish the techno-commercial details (with environmental benefits, if any) for publication in the Technology Transfer column of Modern Pharmaceuticals. R&D organisations, technical consultancy organisations and individuals assisting small and medium enterprises may send the relevant literature, indicating the scope & services and the areas of specification. Contact: Modern Pharmaceuticals Infomedia 18 Ltd, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, J K Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. Tel: 022-3003 4669/4671 Fax: 022-3003 4499 Email: spedit@infomedia18.in
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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Technology Requested Biotechnology for wastewater treatment system A Thailand-based company, a wastewater service provider, is involved in the research and development of new technology for water, wastewater and waste treatment. It requires new ideas related to technology for developing its strength in the field of wastewater; which includes cleaning canals, removing sediments from waterways, biogas, microbiology detector and treated system quality. Areas of application Biotechnology, engineering, new technology Forms of transfer Consultancy
Medical products
Areas of application Cell culturing - molecular biology Forms of transfer Material supply
Extract of medicinal and aromatic plants An Indian company is interested in putting up a multi-purpose herbal extraction plant for the extraction of medicinal and aromatic plants and herbs like artemisinin/quinine sulphate and other alkaloids. Areas of application Pharmaceutical industry Forms of transfer Others
Glove automation equipment Calcium gluconate An Indian company requires the technology to manufacture calcium gluconate. Areas of application Pharmaceutical industry Forms of transfer Technical services, project reports, others
An Indian company requires technology to produce glove by automation process. Areas of application Manufacturing industries, especially rubber industry and latex industry Forms of transfer Consultancy
Cell lines
Kite grading engineering technology
A Thailand-based, ANH Scientific Marketing Co Ltd has been working in the field of life sciences in the country for more than 20 years. In order to complete the company’s product lines, and service customers/researchers/ scientists from the beginning to the end of the process, it would like a company to provide commercial cell lines of human and animals.
A Fiji-based company offers the technology of kite grading, which is a subservient of genetic therapy research particularly for the cardiovascular novice. It seeks assistance from a potential partner to provide equipment and technical support staff. Areas of application Medical research Forms of transfer Joint venture, partnership
An Indian company wants to manufacture intravenous fluids, saline, dextrose and related products used in the medical field. The company is involved in non-medical activities at present. The only medical involvement is its general practice in the UK. It plans to commence a nursing home project in Sri Lanka and would be interested in a joint venture with a suitable partner for its saline project. The project has been approved for tax concessions and its partner is expected to contribute in machinery production and know-how. Areas of application Medical and surgical Forms of transfer Others
Methyl cobalmine An Indian company requires technology for production of methyl cobalamine, which is an important basic drug. Areas of application To be used in pharmaceutical industries Forms of transfer Others
Pharma grade mannitol An Indian company requires the know-how for manufacturing pharma grade mannitol. The estimated production capacity is 600 tonne per annum. Areas of application Pharmaceuticals Forms of transfer Others
Information courtesy: Dr Krishnan S Raghavan, In-Charge, Technology Transfer Services Group, United Nations - Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT), APCTT Building , C-2, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi 110 016 Tel: 011 - 2696 6509, Fax: 011 - 2685 6274, Email: krishnan@apctt.org, Website: www.apctt.org
For more information on technology offers and requests, please log on to www.technology4sme.net and register with your contact details. This is a free of cost platform provided by APCTT for facilitating interaction between buyers and seekers of technologies across the globe. After submitting technology offer or request to this website, you are requested to wait for at least two weeks for receiving a response from a prospective buyer / seeker through this website, before contacting APCTT for further assistance.
June 2010
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BOOK SHELF
Lead Generation Approaches in Drug Discovery Editors Price
: Zoran Rankovic and Richard Morphy : Rs 4,817
Focussing on the evolution of lead drug discovery, the writers address the main concepts of this process, impediments and ways to overcome challenges encountered during the process This book reveals the various developments and changes that have occurred over the years in understanding the constitution of a good lead compound. Further, it elucidates the scopes and challenges posed by Multi-Target Drug Discovery (MTDD). The viewpoints in the book have been substantiated by numerous case studies. The various topics in the book illustrate the impact of natural products on drug discovery, describe the importance of early screening of hits and the lead for metabolic, pharmacokinetics and toxicological liabilities in order to lessen the attrition in the later phases of drug discovery. It also highlights the use of parallel synthesis and purification processes in lead discovery. Further, the de novo design of lead compounds and the synthetic accessibility of molecules designed by this approach is also well-explained by the authors. In addition, technologies favouring High-Throughput Screening (HTS) for lead discovery are also discussed. This book may primarily help scientists, chemists & researchers in academics as well as their respective industries, updating them about the latest trends and approaches in drug discovery. It will also prove beneficial to students in comprehending their field of study.
Delineating a perspective on stability testing, this book discusses the stability challenges encountered in generics, biologics, nutraceuticals and other new product technologies. It also highlights the provisions for drug substances and various types of drug products available in such cases. Divided into four sections, the book voices concerns on the changes in stability profiles, such as split tablets and repackaged products. It also highlights the toxicology, and thereby the safety factors of emerging impurities. While Section I deals with the basic introduction, Section II sheds light on the stability studies in a global environment. Further, Section III provides a study on the technical concepts of stability like turbidity, identity, assay, etc. In addition, Section IV provides data on stability and various operational practices. The book may cater to the demands & needs of the scientists, researchers and quality control & assurance professionals in the pharmaceutical industry. It may also prove useful to students as well as serve as a guide to them for both theoretical and practical purposes.
Pharmaceutical Stability Testing to Support Global Markets Editor Price
: Kim Huynh-Ba : Rs 7,316
Mehul Book Sales, Shop No 1, Lokagutchh Jain Upashraya Building, W H Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 For purchase inquiries, please contact, Tel: 022-2265 4657 / 2269 4145, Fax: 022-2265 4657
54 Modern Pharmaceuticals
June 2010
FRESH ARRIVALS
Agilent Technologies launches supercritical fluid chromatography system Agilent Technologies has launched the Agilent 1200 Series Analytical Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) system, which combines the Agilent 1200 Series Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography system with the Aurora SFC Fusion™ A5. Aurora SFC Systems Inc and Agilent Technologies Inc have recently signed an OEM agreement under which Agilent sells and supports the combined system. According to the press release, the new system delivers 10-fold increase
in sensitivity, achieved by combining Aurora SFC Fusion™ A5 and Agilent solvent delivery systems to deliver CO2 flow with a pulseless precision identical to that for water and organic solvent. A dynamic range greater than 10,000 allows researchers to measure enantiomeric excess and quantify impurities that are 0.01 per cent of the main peak. “The SFC can be 3-5 times faster than High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). It is an ideal match for small drug-like molecules,
Sepha unveils new mobile blister packaging technology In order to meet market demand for flexible short-run blister packaging at minimal cost, the packaging machinery manufacturer Sepha has recently unveiled a mobile blisterpackaging machine ‘EZ BlisterII’ (EZBII). It is a compact, easy-to-use table-top machine for low-volume packaging. The machine will enable laboratories requiring short runs of highquality blister packs to choose from a range of technical options and combine these with extensive standard features, creating a final product tailored to their exact commercial & production requirements. Phil Stevenson, Product Manager, Sepha, said, “With fast set-up and minimal operator training required, EZBII offers pharmaceutical research & clinical trial companies, a laboratory-scale blister packaging machine that combines flexibility, technology and cost-savings that they need in an increasingly competitive market. In a global industry where the cost of ownership is vital, the ability to customise, tool & tailor the EZBII to exact customer specification means that the commercial & technology needs of our customers can be balanced.” Sepha also offers a full blister pack and tooling design service with EZBII, enabling customers to maximise delivery options of their new products.
and should be the method of choice for chiral separations,” said Dr Terry Berger, Founder & Chief Scientist, Aurora SFC Systems. Also, the Agilent 1200 Series Analytical SFC system costs one-tenth to one-fifteenth of existing systems to operate, as it uses standard grade CO2 instead of highly expensive liquid SFC-grade CO2.
Waters introduces laboratory asset management service
Waters Corporation has recently introduced Empower™-driven services, an innovative service programme that provides Waters® Empower customers with invaluable analytics needed for making enterprise-level decisions on laboratory utilisation. “Having objective laboratory utilisation data is the key to driving informed efficiency decisions at an enterpriselevel,” explained Bruce Ryan, Director-Marketing (Global Services), Waters. Empower is Waters’ flagship chromatography data software package for advanced data acquisition, management, processing, reporting and distribution. By accessing the information embedded in this software solution, the Empower-driven service generates customised analysis of laboratory operations.
3M announces the launch of nasal MDI with evaporating spray technology 3M Drug Delivery Systems recently announced the launch of a new range of nasal MeteredDose Inhalers (MDI), which uses evaporating spray technology, thus overcoming the drawback of drip as well as improving the shelf-life of drugs.
56 Modern Pharmaceuticals
Conventional nasal devices deliver drugs in the form of aqueous sprays, which, according to 3M, allow the medication to run back down the nose, termed as ‘run-off’ and drip into the mouth, thus causing irritation. In contrast, the evaporating spray formulation technology of 3M eliminates run-off, prevents irritation to the throat and provides patients with a greater confidence of effective delivery of the drug.
June 2010
“The system does not require an aseptic manufacturing environment, and is compatible with existing valves and the 3M-integrated dose-by-dose counter, contributing to its cost-effectiveness,” said company officials. 3M also suggested that the evaporating spray technology provides opportunity to explore important lifecycle management options for molecules going off patent, as well as for new molecules that would target nasal allergies.
FRESH ARRIVALS
Ceco Environmental launches R-Series rotary oxidiser Ceco Environmental Corp, a North America based provider of air pollution control and industrial ventilation systems recently launched the ‘R-Series’. This rotary device can operate as a Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO), a Regenerative Catalytic Oxidiser (RCO), or a Thermally Efficient Selective Catalytic Reduction (TESCR) system. Oxidisers destroy Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) whereas selective catalytic reduction removes Nitrous Oxides (NOx) from airstreams. Jeff Lang, Chief Executive Officer averred, “We are pleased that our in-house research and engineering teams have jointly developed this new unit. The ‘R-Series’ valve technology that is utilised in this unit provides a cost effective alternative to the existing installed base of single housing valve RTO/RCO systems. The new product has already generated significant interest in the marketplace.” The R-Series is ideal for industries such as pharmaceutical, painting, coil coating, food processing, chemical processing, composites, semiconductor manufacturing, odour control, printing and converting, fibreglass manufacturing, petrochemical, hydrocarbon processing, etc. CECO also provides a wide spectrum of air quality services and products including industrial air filters, environmental maintenance, monitoring & management services, and air quality improvements systems for multiple industries.
Crest, Eisai launch track and trace packaging machine
Crest Solutions and Eisai Machinery have recently demonstrated a track-and-trace packaging system designed to integrate into existing operations, bringing companies to comply with new regulations. The PharmaMarker system is capable of coding, verifying and tracking up to 450 pharmaceutical cartons per minute. This is achieved by marking each carton with a
data matrix code printed using a non-contact thermal ink or laser print head. Cartons are conveyed past a Cognex high resolution vision system to verify the data matrix code. If a carton fails the verification process it is removed, with successful cartons continuing through production. Information from successfully verified cartons enters into Crest Solutions Protrack, a traceability database, and can then be shared with regulatory or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) environments.
Waters introduces new solid-phase extraction device A new device for assisting in drug discovery and development, with the help of which scientists can improve the efficiency of their sample extractions, has been introduced by Waters Corporation. The Waters® Positive Pressure-96 processor is specifically designed to perform Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) for analytes in biological samples using Waters 96-well Oasis® mElution plate or the Waters Oasis 96-well macro plate. Waters Positive Pressure-96 processor features a manifold gasket with 96 independent ports—one port for each well of the mElution plate’s 96 wells. Using inert gas, it applies a ‘motive’ force of up to 80 psi into each port, forcing the analytes in the sample through the well into a collection plate for analysis at a later time. Using positive pressure for liquid displacement, the product yields consistent, uniform flow from well to well, thus improving the overall reproducibility of analyte recoveries, even in viscous samples. The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/ distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of
Modern Pharmaceuticals
Share Information on your New Machinery & Materials The mission of Modern Pharmaceuticals is to spread the technology culture. We offer you an opportunity to participate in this endeavour by publishing information on your newly developed technologies that are applied in pharma and allied sectors. Manufacturers, developers and sellers of pharma-related products, machinery, materials and software are invited to furnish details for publication in this section of Modern Pharmaceuticals. R&D organisations, technical consultancy organisations and individuals assisting small and medium enterprises may send the relevant literature, indicating the scope & services and the areas of specification. Write to us: Modern Pharmaceuticals Infomedia 18 Ltd, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, J K Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. Tel: 022-3003 4669/4671 Fax: 022-3003 4499 Email: spedit@infomedia18.in
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Multi mill & cone mill
Transmitters
Jicon Machines offers multi mill & cone mill for granulation, pulverising, shredding and chopping of dry and wet materials. The rotor, hopper, discharge bowl and other equipment can be easily removed for cleaning. The rotor has 12 blades with blunt and knife edges for hammering and cutting action and is easy to remove. The speed of this mill is variable and reversible. It is mounted on a standing mobile platform with castors for easy movement. Different mounting structures are available as per client’s requirement. The output varies from 100 to 800 kg per hour depending on product and screen. The cone mill is ideal for wet, sticky, heat-sensitive materials. Gentle grinding action ensures uniform particle size, minimising fines and dust. The cone mill’s output varies from 100 to 500 kg per hour depending on product and screen.
Ace Instruments offers digital differential pressure transmitters. These are high-accuracy differential pressure transmitters with integrated display & 4-20 mA output. The transmitter has a fourdigit red LED display 0.5” high with 0.1 decimal resolution. Industry standard two-wire 4-20 mA output is available as standard output. Option of 0-5 V or 0-10 VDC output is also available. These are available in ranges from -10.0 to +10.0, 0.0 to 10.0, 20.0, 50.0, 100.0, 25.0, 500.0, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 mm WC. These instruments are also available in Pascal units of measurement. Other standard metric unit that be accommodated includes cm WC, in WC, in Hg, mm Hg, etc.These instruments are available in all three versions of differential pressure, gauge pressure & vacuum. For gauge pressure & vacuum, option of ¼” BSP male threading is available for direct mounting onto system. These transmitters are used in pharmaceutical cleanrooms, air handling units, HEPA filters, filters, pharma machinery, etc.
Jicon Machines Pvt Ltd - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2851 0398, Fax: 022-2851 6488 Email: jicon.ind@vsnl.com
Ace Instruments - Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh Tel: 040-2307 8848, 3290 1226 Fax: 040-2307 8848, Mob: 09394030848 Email: sales@aceinstrumentshyd.com
Metal detector Unique Equipments offers gravity feed metal detector. The gravity feed metal detector has tamper-proof controls with password protection at different stages, automatic parameter retention, detection & rejection counters and system fault annunciation. Its features are 25 product memories, operator code, batch code, product code entry and 0-255 settings for sensitivity. The ‘Autovalidate’ metal detector works on automatic balance principle and has membrane touchpad with 25 alphanumerical keys. This system is equipped with automatic product learn facility, digital signal processor, detection and rejection counters. The ‘Digitech-75’ metal detector comes with membrane touchpad with 08 keys and does continuous self-check and calibration verification. Unique Equipments - Chicalim - Goa Tel: 0832-2541 467, Fax: 0832-2541 214 Email: uniqueqp@sancharnet.in
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Filtration equipment Nishotech Systems offers a wide range of filtration equipment specifically designed according to GMP standards for pharma and biotech industry. The ‘Fundabac®’ filters work on the principle of candle-cake filtration and are suited for pharma application requiring high purity and for recovery of filtrate in short and frequent batches. The filter comes with patented heel volume filtration to give ‘zero heel volume’. These equipment do not have rotating or moving parts and are designed for dry and wet cake discharge. These are used in activated carbon separation, catalyst recovery and in removal of cell debris from fermentation broth. The company also offers candle filter, chromatographic column, liquid chromatography, chromatographic systems, skid mounted membrane filtration unit, lab scale membrane filtration unit, etc. Nishotech Systems Pvt Ltd - Navi Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022 -4151 5151 Fax: 022 - 2778 1484 Email: info@nishotech.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Ointment/cream manufacturing plant
Spray dryer
Precikot Pharma offers automatic ointment/cream manufacturing plant having capacities ranging from 5 to 50 kg. Constructed of SS-316/316L, it comes with dual anchor agitator with fix anchor. Its features include online colloidal mill/microniser, hydraulic lid lifting for manufacturing vessel, bottom/top homogeniser, fully/semi-automatic operation, etc. The ointment/ cream manufacturing vessel has capacities ranging from 25 to 1,000 kg. The company also manufactures tube filling, sealing & coding machine. It is available in capacities ranging from 30 to 80 tubes per minute depending on fill capacity. The machine is suitable for aluminium/lemi/ plastic tube. Jacketed hopper/stirrer is provided as optional. It is equipped with ‘no tube, no fill device’.
Umang Pharmatech offers laboratory spray dryer. This pilot scale spray dryer is used for testing spray drying feasibility, producing customer samples, for developing optimum spray drying conditions and production of small powder batches. The features of the dryer are mini spray drying from 0.1 ltr batch, maximum evaporation 1 & 3 ltr/hr, spray congealing, two fluid spray nozzle, flame proof heaters & motor, PLC control, etc. The company offers rotary disc atomiser. This is a belt-driven unit with standard electrical motors. A number of models are available with wheel diameters of 100 to 350 mm and is suitable for capacities from 5 to 10,000 ltr/hr. Various configuration such as orifice, pin, vane with stainless steel and ceramic wear part are available. A variety of lubrication systems starting from continuous drip to fully automatic force lubrication system can be provided. Fully equipped pilot spray dryer is available for conducting trials on customers’ samples and simulation of ideal drying parameters for individual products and for assessment of their physical properties such as moisture content, approximate particle size distribution and bulk density.
Precikot Pharma Pvt Ltd - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 0250-245 7011-19, Fax: 0250-245 7020 Email: info@precikot.com
Umang Pharmatech Pvt Ltd - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 0250-645 0835-7 Email: info@umangpharmatech.com
Connector & cable assembly Katlax Enterprises offers connector & cable assembly for sensors. These are available in right-angle cable socket and straight-cable socket. These sensors are used in automation, any other highefficiency machine or where the process downtime is critical. These are provided with a moulded cable, which is part of cable harness assembly. The colour identification by connectors comply with European standards. The sensors are available in sizes ranging from M8 to M36. These products find applications in automation solutions for machine building, automation, process equipment, textiles, pharmaceuticals, packaging, printing, material handling equipment, security systems, automotives, logistics & positioning and tracking (GPS, GPRS, GSM), etc. Katlax Enterprises Pvt Ltd - Gandhinagar - Gujarat Tel: 02764- 286784-85, 079-2685 4693 Fax: 02764–286793, 079- 2685 3979 Email: info@katlax.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Vial filling & rubber stoppering machine Laxmi Pharma Equipment offers compact automatic liquid vial filling & rubber stoppering machine in stainless steel. The machine consists of turntable, SS slat conveyor belt, eccentric pre-gassing, filling & postgassing SS-316 nozzles, precision built SS-316 syringes, non-toxic synthetic rubber tubings, easy-reach compact panel, etc. Due to its minimum distance between filling and stoppering, the risk of contamination is reduced. It is designed for operating in a sterile area and for utilising it under laminar flow protection. The un-scrambler has been designed in the machine to eliminate dead ends and difficultto-clean spots. All its exposed parts are made of SS-304, matte finish to avoid any reflection. It is provided with co-eccentric nozzles, which allow quick and precise setting. Its height can be adjusted to match other machines for efficient synchronisation. This machine is used in pharmaceuticals, food & beverages, chemicals, cosmetic applications and in other allied companies/industries. Laxmi Pharma Equipment - Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-2583 1600 Email: laxmipharma@icenet.net
In-line assembly automation system Neejtech India offers pharmaceutical & medical moulding and in-line assembly automation system. The company’s automation systems comply with the most complex requirements, including cleanroom specifications. It is provided with high-speed side-entry robots for short cycle times and major cycle time reduction. This system is used for manufacturing petri dishes, tablet dispensers, pipette tips, wells, syringes, infusion ports, contact lenses, inhalers, spray heads, razors, liquid soap dispensers, caps & closures, etc. Its features include high-speed take out, insertion of metal parts or re-insertion of substrate for second shot, ultrasonic welding (of filters, of assembled parts), heat staking of filters, swaging, leak-test, assembly processes, stacking, flow wrapping, automated packaging in any configuration, etc. Neejtech India - Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-2656 1312 Email: sales@neejtech.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Ink jet printer
Reflective photoelectric sensor
Videojet Technologies (I) offers ‘Videojet® 1510’ small-character continuous ink jet printer. It is easy to operate through its intuitive user interface and fluid replacement system with the microchip-enabled fluid bottles, called ‘Smart Cartridges™’. A unique printhead automatically sets up and adjusts to environment changes, resulting in consistently sharp print quality. It is used for the food, beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical and personal care/cosmetic industries. Smart cartridges are fluid bottles with a microchip that identifies whether compatible fluid has been installed, to prevent errors in ink types or switching make-up and ink bottles. These cartridges are uniquely shaped to drain completely, wasting no residual ink to further reduce costs. This printer can be integrated via its USB port, which allows for hot-swapping print jobs and backing up messages.
Lubi Electronics offers ‘Sunx EQ34W’ dual output adjustable range of reflective photoelectric sensor. It is a special sensor for detecting two different levels or surface for up to 2 metre sensing range. The sensor contains two individual outputs for two sensing distances - far (main) and near (sub). The detectability of the sensor is very stable even if the lens is contaminated by dirt, dust, mist or smoke under an unclear environment. Housed in IP67 protection, it can also be used in places splashed with water. The main benefit of the sensor is non-contact type detection of the object with two different levels of output, which is most suitable for packaging, pharma and food processing industries. Typical application includes detection of level (upper & lower) in hopper, etc.
Videojet Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd - Navi Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2778 0678, 3298 1209 Fax: 022-2778 0674 Email: Info.India@videojet.com
Lubi Electronics - Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-2220 5471-76 Fax: 079-2220 0660 Email: info@lubielectronics.com
Check weigher Technofour Electronics offers ‘CW 21K’ check weigher for online dynamic weighing for shipper. This device uses the state-of-the-art technology to achieve greater accuracy in dynamic weighing. The system provides 100 per cent online weighing, ensuring compliance with international standards of pharmaceutical, food, chemical and cosmetics industries. The check weigher also improves production line profitability through significant reduction in product give away. This is an ideal system for shipper cartons. The device has height adjustment for ease of integration with existing line; variable conveyor speed control to match the inlet speed and facility for dynamic weight compensation. The weigher also displays net weight and statistical data of total accept, total reject, standard deviation, percentage of rejection, range value, etc on a graphical LCD display. These systems are tailor-made and are available in a wide range from 500 gm to 50 kg to suit the requirement. Technofour Electronics Pvt Ltd - Pune - Maharashtra Tel: 020-2605 8063/4/5 Fax: 020-2605 8073 Email: sales@teplindia.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Hose reels
Photoelectric sensor
Cris Engineering Works offers stainless steel hose reels that are designed for heavy-duty use with a canvas reinforced rubber/’Teflon’ braided stainless steel water hose. Using a heavy-duty internal spring, the reel quickly and easily rewinds the hose. These are provided with a ratchet assembly, which locks the reel when the desired length of hose has been pulled out. All hose reels are preset with enough force to fully retract the hose. Hose reels can be conveniently installed on the pillar, wall or ceiling, for easy access and maintenance and are offered in fixed or swivel designs. Each hose reel includes a hose stop to prevent damage to the hose reel rollers and water saver nozzles. These self-rewind hose reels are manufactured for pharma, food, chemicals, dairy, beverage and allied industries. These are available in 5, 10 or 15 m long hose with ½ inch or ¾ inch diameter, having a maximum working pressure of 10 bar and maximum working temperature of 100 °C.
Omron Automation offers ‘E3ZM series’ compact photoelectric sensor with built-in amplifier and stainless steel housing (SUS-316L). It is suitable for applications where hygiene and resistance to aggressive environments are the key requirements. This sensor is also suitable for high-temperature, high-pressure jet water spray cleaning applications. It has a sensing range of 15 m in through-beam, 4 m in retro-reflective, 1 m in diffused and 200 mm in BGS reflective modes. The sensor has both prewire & connector type and NPN & PNP output models. It can be used in various applications like presence of components detection, transparent bottle detection, counting of number of bottles/packs moving on the conveyor, presence/absence of cap in the bottle, position detection of objects, etc. The high-grade stainless steel SUS 316L and the housing design of the ‘E3ZM series’ sensor with protruding optics or adjusters provides enhanced protection against mechanical damage.
Cris Engineering Works - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2685 9440, Fax: 022-2685 9440 Email: roque_ferns@rediffmail.com
Omron Automation Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-4072 6400 Email: in_enquiry@ap.omron.com
Differential pressure indicators Ace Instruments offers differential pressure indicators for pharma cleanrooms. These indicators powered by 230 VAC have a highresolution display with 0.1 mm WC or 1 Pascal resolution. Various ranges are available for -10.0 to +10.0, -25.0 to +25.0, -50.0 to +50.0, -100.0 to + 100.0 mm WC, etc. All ranges are also available in Pascal scale. These indicators are rugged instruments in stainless steel enclosures with stainless steel pressure ports. These can be used to measure gauge pressure or vacuum also leaving one port open to atmosphere & connecting the other port to the system to be measured. The display is a 1/2 inch high super bright red segment LED display. These indicators are used in HVAC, cleanroom monitoring, medical & pneumatic controls, etc. Options available with these indicators include 4-20 mA output, relay output and isolated RS 485 modbus output. Ace Instruments - Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh Tel: 040-2307 8848, 3290 1226, Fax: 040-2307 8848 Email: sales@aceinstrumentshyd.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Vibro de-dusting unit
Cooling towers
Kambert Machinery Co offers vibro de-dusting unit. It is used for effective de-dusting by using vibratory effect. As the tablet enters the screen, they are gently vibrated in order to release the layer of surface dust and remove the edges. The dust is collected by a dust extraction system through a hose pipe spigot connection and the tablet shifts to the next position in guide channel. All the product contact parts are made of SS-16 and non-contact parts are of SS-304 quality stainless steel. The contact parts are easily accessible for washing/sterilisation. It is specially designed for de-dusting and de-burring of tablets. It removes fine surface dust and edges without damaging the tablets. This unit is compatible with all types of tablet presses and dust extractors. Its geometrical design ensures easy removal of all burrs on the tablet-conveying route. It is provided with castors for free mobility and the height can be adjusted. It is easy to install and requires less maintenance. It also ensures de-burring and de-dusting at each tablet press, compliance with cGMP standards and working with safety rules.
Harrison Cooling Towers offers timber-induced draught cooling towers. These cooling towers are available in single as well as multiple cells. In the smaller ranges, the cooling towers are provided with single air inlet and in bigger capacities air is drawn from two opposite sides. The framework of the cooling tower is made from preservative-treated pinewood. The splash bars are made from Ascu-treated pinewood and the casing material is either preservative-treated marine grade plywood or corrugated asbestos cement board. The water distribution is by gravity flow and equal distribution is achieved by polypropylene target nozzles. The fan is made of cast aluminium, which is statically and dynamically balanced for vibration-free performance. The fan is mounted on to a direct driven low rpm motor or on a gearbox coupled to the motor. The motor is weather-proof thereby making the cooling tower almost maintenance-free. The fan cylinder is made of alloy steel and is hot dip galvanised after fabrication or made from FRP. The carry over and drift losses is maintained well below 0.1 per cent by the use of two-pass herringbone eliminators. These cooling towers are used for special applications and in process plants, cement plants, sugar mills and in chemical & pharmaceutical industries.
Kambert Machinery Co Pvt Ltd - Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-2583 4874/4041-42, Fax: 079 – 2589 4874 Email: kambertad1@sancharnet.in
Harrison Cooling Towers Pvt Ltd - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2888 5256/ 6440 5777 Email: harrison@vsnl.com
Micro PLC Omron Automation offers ‘CP1E’ series micro PLC, for OEM manufacturers. The all-in-one package PLC with models for high-speed counters, pulse outputs and built-in serial port (CP1E-N) - provides solutions for machine builders with approximately 20 to 160 I/O points. The CPUs can be connected to a computer via USB cable and support software with ‘smart input’ intuitive operation for faster programming. Two types of CPU units are available. The Etype basic CPU unit is economical with basic functionality, whereas the N-type application CPU unit supports programmable terminal connection, position control and inverter connection. Omron Automation Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-4072 6400, Fax: 080-4146 6403 Email: in_enquiry@ap.omron.com
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PRODUCT UPDATE
Rapid mixer granulator
Registration mark sensor
Chitra Machineries offers rapid mixer granulator. This granulator is designed to achieve excellent mixing and consistent granules at lower operating cost along with higher productivity. It is available from 15 to 600-ltr gross capacity. The machine has a homogeneous binder distribution, short batch time and reduced cleaning time. It maximises CIP effectiveness, and has air-purge sealing system for the main stirrer shaft and granulator shaft. All internal contact parts are polished to mirror finish. It also has PLC-based operating panel for precise control of process & automation. Further, a high-speed granulator is inserted horizontally through the wall of bowl to assist blending of powder and to break the product to granules of required size. The seal housing and drive shaft may be flushed with cleaning water, which is then drained away from the machine through built-in drain tubes. The granulator motor is provided with a removable stainless steel shroud which covers the motor. All moving parts of the machine are totally enclosed to eliminate accident, and the machine can be started only after the mixer cover is properly closed. All contact parts are made of SS-304 and SS-316. The flush wall-type discharge valve eliminates pockets at the port of discharge valve.
Banner Engineering India offers ‘R58A Series’ registration mark sensor for detecting registration marks in printing and material registration applications in web printing, product packaging and pharmaceutical industries. It features simplified set-up via potentiometer adjustment of the switching threshold and switch-selectable light/dark operate. The sensor’s short warm-up period, fast 10 kHz switching frequency and 15-microsecond repeatability ensure reliable detection in high-speed printing and web processing applications, where timing is critical. Its contrast sensitivity, coupled with its small 1.2 x 3.8 mm sensing image, enables the sensor to detect subtle registration marks on high-gloss and other challenging materials, and in low-contrast applications. This sensor is used in a wide range of applications including printing - labels, packaging, newspaper & wraps; filling & bottling machines; labelling machines; sealing machines for food & candy; plastic bagging printing, forming & sealing and high-speed web processing applications. Banner Engineering India Pvt Ltd - Pune - Maharashtra Tel: 020-6640 5624, Fax: 020-6640 5623 Email: salesindia@bannerengineering.com
Chitra Machineries Pvt Ltd - Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-2290 0433/2929 2650, Fax: 079-2289 1666 Email: info@chitramachineries.com
Hydraulic lifters Ace Technologies offers hydraulic lifters. These are hydraulically operated lifters that are used to lift IPC’s, bins, etc and to hold them on top of the filling or compression machines. This ensures continuous, feeding of the hopper without subjecting the operator to any inconvenience or health hazard. Various GMP models are available for different capacities and applications. These are mounted on free-moving load bearing, thus ensuring swivel movement. The bin can be moved across the production areas on trolleys or alternately the bins can be fabricated with trolley wheels if required. The company offers belt conveyors, roller conveyors, slat conveyors, packing conveyors, friction rollers, etc. Ace Technologies - Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2854 0743/0645, Fax: 022-2870 0281 Email: acetechnologies@vsnl.comgroup.com
June 2010
Modern Pharmaceuticals
65
PRODUCT UPDATE
Rheometer TTL Technologies offers ‘Haake Mars III’ rheometer with enhanced temperature control accuracy and expanded temperature module range for applications in starch, polymers, etc. It is available with comprehensive accessory range to meet individual measuring needs including simultaneous measurements of rheology & optical properties, measuring geometries and sample protection. Optimised frame and easy handling due to quick-fit connections, user-friendly display and control panel are the features of the rheometer. It offers comprehensive workflows, for example, in the polymer and pharmaceutical industry, customers can benefit from complete workflows that cover sample processing (extrusion) and sample preparation up to material characterisation, such as rheology. TTL Technologies Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-2525 1859, 2526 0646, Fax: 080-2529 1285 Email: tmidirect@ttlindia.com
Disposable bioreactors Lablinks Biotech offers disposable bioreactors. The disposable bioreactors as opposed to conventional bioreactors are single-use systems made of medicalgrade plastics, which are pre-sterilised and ready for use, therefore not needing cumbersome SIP and CIP. Agitated by means of an external gyrational motion, which uses gravity naturally to make the contents flow in a uniform circumferential direction in a specially shaped round bag, these disposable bioreactor systems have definite advantages over the conventional and existing disposable bioreactors that are manufactured in the other countries. Produced in Class 10000 clean rooms with imported medical grade PVC film, these disposable bioreactor systems are versatile and can be used to manufacture high-end vaccines to low-end bio-fertilisers. Lablinks Biotech Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-3244 0830, Fax: 080-2790 4790 Mob: 093437 48099 Email: ravindranath@lablinksbiotech.com
The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/ distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of
Modern Pharmaceuticals 66 Modern Pharmaceuticals
June 2010
Fine chemicals
Processing trolleys
Acid storage tanks
Food analysing & testing machine
Profiles
Analytical instruments
FRP petroleum tanks
Programmable logic controllers
Gaskets
Programmable terminals
GMP heat exchangers
Proximity sensors
GMP reactors
Pumps Racking system
Haul off
Braided house
Hose reels
Rapid endotoxin detection system
Cable carriers
HPLC
Rapid mixer granulator
Cable connectors
Hydraulic filters
Reflective photoelectric sensor
Cables
Hydrogenator/autoclaves
Registration mark sensor
Capping machines
Industrial control & sensing devices
RFID
Chains
Industrial magazines &
Rheometer
pharmaceutical books
Rotary vacuum dryers
Rotocone dryers
Safety light curtains
Screening machine
Sections
Separators
Sheets
Silicone carbide heat exchangers
Silicone rubber sleeves
Silicone transparent platinum
Spherical paddle chopper dryers
Sponges
Spray dryer
Squares
Sticker (self-adhesive) labelling
Strips
Switching relays
Tablet bottle packing lines
Takeup drum
TC gaskets
Temperature controllers
Timers
Transmitters
Transparent tubings
Turnkey projects
Bins Blower motor
Fax: +91-22-3003 4499 E-mail: b2b@infomedia18.in
Bearings
Tel: +91-22-3003 4684 / 4640
Check weigher Chemical storage tanks
Cleanroom doors
Cleanrooms
Conical screw dryers
Connector & cable assembly
Inflatable gaskets Informatics Injectable powder filling machines
printer Inkjet First Fold Here
Columns & chemistries
In-line assembly automation system
Intermediate bulk containers
Connectors
Invertor/variable frequency drives
Cooling towers
Knife mill
Cords
Laminar airflow equipment
Corona treater sleeves
Level controllers
Counters & power supplies
Lipid food processing unit
Crushers
Liquid filling lines
Cutters
Liquid filling machines
Dairy processing plant
LV motors
Differential pressure indicators
Magazines publisher & distributors
Disposable bioreactors
Measuring & monitoring relays
Doff baskets
Metal detectors
Drives
Micro PLC
Drum roller
Milk processing plant
Dry syrup powder filling lines
Mixer cooler
Effluent treatment plant
Motion controls
Electroplating tanks
Mullers
Empower
Multi mill & cone mill
Encoders
Epoxy PU floor & wall coating
mill Multi-function Second Fold Here
systems
Please tick against the box of product(s) you are interested in: Mention specific product/service you need, Complete all the details on this form. Tear the form & mail it to us. (It is a prepaid mail)
Autoclave gaskets
cured tubings
machines
Nip
O-rings
UPLC
Exhibition - Engineering Expo
Oil seals
Vats
Exhibition - NDDS India 2010
Ointment/cream manufacturing plant
Ventilator
Exhibition - Nextgen 2010
Packaging drums
Vial filling & rubber stoppering
Exhibition - Promach 2010
Packaging machines
Exhibition - SCM Pharma India 2010
Pallet containers
Vibro de-dusting unit
Exhibition - Plastivision India 2011
Photoelectric sensors
Vision sensors
Extruders
Pickling tanks
Wall panels
FBD gaskets
Plastic pallets
Washing and air jet cleaning
Feeders
PLCs
Filters
Pneumatic component
Wastewater treatment equipment
Filtration equipment
Process heat exchangers
Wet glue labelling machine
Filtration systems
Process reactors
Winder
machine
machines
Send your inquiries at: Tel: +91-22-3003 4684 / 4640 • Fax: +91-22-3003 4499 E-mail: b2b@infomedia18.in
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AC drives
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se this form for FREE additional Information on advertisements published in this issue. We will send your inquiries to the advertisers and ask them to send you the details or contact you directly.
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ABB Limited
Ind Flooring Systems
AIPMA
International Marketing Services
BIEC
Omron Automation Pvt Ltd
First Fold Here
Bonfiglioli Transmissions (Pvt) Ltd
Reach Out
Brothers Pharmamach (India) Pvt Ltd
Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt Ltd
CBS Publishers & Distributors Sintex Industries Ltd Charles River SR Prefabs Modular Cleanroom Pvt Ltd Danfoss Indus Pvt Ltd Sreelakshmi Traders
Dipesh Engineering Works SSP Pvt Limited
Engineering Expo
Suresh Enterprises
Grundfos Pumps India Pvt Ltd Guan Yu Machinery Factory Co Ltd
UBM India Private Limited
Igus India Pvt Ltd
Waters (India) Private Limited
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Special Projects
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PRODUCT INDEX
Product
Pg No
Product
Pg No
Product
Pg No
AC drives.................................................................. 24A
Fine chemicals .............................................................29
Process reactors...............................................................1
Acid storage tanks...........................................................3
Food analysing & testing machine ..............................11
Processing trolleys ..........................................................3
Analytical instruments .................................. Back cover
FRP petroleum tanks......................................................3
Profiles...........................................................................45
Autoclave gaskets..........................................................45
Gaskets ........................................................................45
Programmable logic controllers ....... Front inside cover
Bearings.................................................................... 24B
GMP heat exchangers.....................................................1
Programmable terminals................... Front inside cover
Bins ..................................................................................3
GMP reactors ..................................................................1
Proximity sensors .............................. Front inside cover
Blower motor ..................................................................9
Haul off .........................................................................9
Pumps............................................................................15
Braided house ...............................................................45
Hose reels ......................................................................63
Racking system .............................................................3
Cable carriers........................................................... 24B
HPLC .............................................................. Back cover
Rapid endotoxin detection system ..............................45
Cable connectors ....................................................... 24B
Hydraulic filters ............................................................65
Rapid mixer granulator................................................65
Cables.............................................................................45
Hydrogenator/autoclaves ...............................................1
Reflective photoelectric sensor ....................................62
Capping machines ..........................................................5
Industrial control & sensing devices .......Front inside cover
Registration mark sensor .............................................65
Chains......................................................................... 24B
Industrial magazines & pharmaceutical books ..........55
RFID ................................................... Front inside cover
Check weigher...............................................................62
Inflatable gaskets...........................................................45
Rheometer .....................................................................66
Chemical storage tanks ..................................................3
Informatics ..................................................... Back cover
Rotary vacuum dryers ....................................................1
Cleanroom doors..........................................................19
Injectable powder filling machines ...............................5
Rotocone dryers..............................................................1
Cleanrooms ...................................................................19
Inkjet printer.................................................................62
Safety light curtains ........................Front inside cover
In-line assembly automation system...........................61
Screening machine........................................................11
Intermediate bulk containers.........................................3
Sections..........................................................................45
Invertor/variable frequency drives ... Front inside cover
Separators ......................................................................11
Knife mill ....................................................................11
Sheets .............................................................................45
Laminar airflow equipment ......................................19
Silicone carbide heat exchangers ...................................1
Level controllers................................. Front inside cover
Silicone rubber sleeves .................................................45
Lipid food processing unit...........................................11
Silicone transparent platinum cured tubings .............45
Liquid filling lines...........................................................5
Spherical paddle chopper dryers ...................................1
Liquid filling machines...................................................5
Sponges..........................................................................45
LV motors .................................................................. 24A
Spray dryer ....................................................................60
Magazines publisher & distributors .........................55
Squares...........................................................................45
Measuring & monitoring relays ...... Front inside cover
Sticker (self-adhesive) labelling machines ....................5
Metal detectors..............................................................58
Strips..............................................................................45
Micro PLC.....................................................................64
Switching relays ................................. Front inside cover
Milk processing plant ...................................................13
Tablet bottle packing lines ..........................................5
Mixer cooler....................................................................9
Takeup drum ..................................................................9
Effluent treatment plant ............................................13
Motion controls ................................. Front inside cover
TC gaskets .....................................................................45
Electroplating tanks ........................................................3
Mullers...........................................................................11
Temperature controllers ................... Front inside cover
Empower ........................................................ Back cover
Multi mill & cone mill .................................................58
Timers................................................. Front inside cover
Encoders ............................................. Front inside cover
Multi-function mill ......................................................11
Transmitters ..................................................................58
Epoxy PU floor & wall coating systems......................61
Nip .................................................................................9
Transparent tubings .....................................................45
Exhibition - Engineering Expo......................................6
O-rings ........................................................................45
Turnkey projects.............................................................1
Exhibition - NDDS India 2010......................................4
Oil seals .........................................................................45
UPLC ............................................................ Back cover
Exhibition - Nextgen 2010.............................................4
Ointment/cream manufacturing plant .......................60
Vats................................................................................3
Exhibition - Promach 2010 ...........................................2
Packaging drums ..........................................................3
Ventilator ......................................................................59
Exhibition - SCM Pharma India 2010 ..........................4
Packaging machines........................................................5
Vial filling & rubber stoppering machine...................61
Exhibition - Plastivision India 2011............................35
Pallet containers..............................................................3
Vibro de-dusting unit ..................................................64
Extruders .........................................................................9
Photoelectric sensors ...................Front inside cover, 63
Vision sensors .................................... Front inside cover
FBD gaskets ................................................................45
Pickling tanks..................................................................3
Wall panels..................................................................19
Feeders.............................................................................9
Plastic pallets...................................................................3
Washing and air jet cleaning machines ........................5
Filters .............................................................................11
PLCs............................................................................ 24A
Wastewater treatment equipment ...............................11
Filtration equipment ..............................................11, 59
Pneumatic component .................................................11
Wet glue labelling machine ...........................................5
Filtration systems..........................................................11
Process heat exchangers .................................................1
Winder.............................................................................9
Columns & chemistries................................. Back cover Conical screw dryers.......................................................1 Connector & cable assembly........................................60 Connectors ................................................................. 24B Cooling towers..............................................................64 Cords .............................................................................45 Corona treater sleeves ..................................................45 Counters & power supplies............... Front inside cover Crushers.........................................................................11 Cutters .............................................................................9 Dairy processing plant...............................................13 Differential pressure indicators ...................................63 Disposable bioreactors .................................................66 Doff baskets.....................................................................3 Drives................................................... Back inside cover Drum roller .....................................................................9 Dry syrup powder filling lines.......................................5
PRODUCT SOURCING MADE SIMPLE June 2010
Modern Pharmaceuticals
71
ADVERTISERS’ LIST
Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
ABB Limited
Pg No
24 A
Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
Dipesh Engineering Works
T: +91-80-22949560
T: +91-22-26743719
E: amit.a.sharma@in.abb.com
E: sales@dipeshengg.net
W: www.abb.co.in
W: www.dipeshengg.com
AIPMA
Pg No
1
35
E: marketing@plastivision.org
24
T: +91-22-30034640 E: spmktg@infomedia18.in
Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt Ltd Engineering Expo
6
E: rejneesh.kumar@sial.com
E: engexpo@infomedia18.in
W: www.safcpharma.com
W: www.eng-expo.com
Sintex Industries Ltd
2 Grundfos Pumps India Pvt Ltd
15
T: +91-124-4014060
29
T: +91-80-66219400
T: +91-9819430607
W: www.plastivision.org
3
T: +91-2764-253500 E: design.plast@sintex.co.in
T: +91-44-24966800
E: amit.mehta@cii.in
W: www.sintex-plastics.com
E: salesindia@grundfos.com
W: www.promach.co.in Bonfiglioli Transmissions (Pvt) Ltd
Reach Out
Pg No
W: www.infomedia18.in
T: +91-22-28271678
BIEC
Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
BIC
SR Prefabs Modular Cleanroom Pvt Ltd
W: www.grundfos.in
T: +91-44-24781035
Guan Yu Machinery Factory Co Ltd
E: sales@bonfiglioliin.com
T: +886-4-896-5198
W: www.bonfiglioliindia.com
E: guanyeu@ms39.hinet.net
19
T: +91-40-23770499 11
E: info@srprefabs.com W: www.srprefabs.com Sreelakshmi Traders
59
T: +91-44-24343343 Brothers Pharmamach (India) Pvt Ltd
5
W: www.gy-1000.com.tw E: sreelakshmitraders@gmail.com
T: +91-79-40213213
Igus India Pvt Ltd
E: brothers@usa.net
T: +91-80-39127800
SSP Pvt Limited
W: www.brothers.co.in
E: info@igus.in
T: +91-129-4183700
W: www.igus.in
E: marketing@ssp.co.in
CBS Publishers & Distributors
55
24 B
13
W: www.sspindia.com
T: +91-11-23289259
Ind Flooring Systems
61 Suresh Enterprises
E: cbspubs@vsnl.com
T: +91-9890005725 E: anil.mani@indfloorings.com
E: info@sevitsil.com
45 International Marketing Services
45
T: +91-2762-224814
W: www.cbspd.com Charles River
W: www.sreelakshmitraders.com
59
W: www.sevitsil.com
T: +91-80 - 25588175 4
T: +91-22-40461466
E: ims_blr@sify.com
W: www.criver.com Danfoss Indus Pvt Ltd
UBM India Private Limited
T: +91-80-23310124
E: india.customercare@crl.com
E: conferences@ubmindia.com 9
Omron Automation Pvt Ltd
FIC Waters (India) Private Limited
T: +91-44-66501555
T: +91-80-40726400
E: danfoss.india@danfoss.com
E: srirams@ap.omron.com
E: waters_india@waters.com
W: www.danfoss.com
W: www.omron-ap.com
W: www.waters.com
BC
T: +91-80-28371900
Our consistent advertisers
72 Modern Pharmaceuticals
June 2010