Lilly-Lupin Bolster India Alliance But Cialis Faces Crowded Market
Executive Summary
Eli Lilly and Lupin are building on their alliance in India, with Lupin introducing Lilly’s Cialis (tadalafil) – a teeming market awaits the product, however.
Lupin Ltd. has acquired rights to market, promote and distribute Eli Lilly & Co.’s erectile dysfunction product, Cialis (tadalafil), signaling a further cementing of the duo’s alliance in India.
Lupin said that it would market Cialis through its specialty field force while Lilly will essentially be responsible for manufacturing and importing the product.
The Mumbai-head-quartered Lupin already sells Lilly’s Huminsulin range of products under a 2011 alliance; in December 2016, the partnership was expanded, with Lupin commencing the marketing of Lilly’s rapid-acting insulin analog Lispro under the brand name Eglucent. The second brand approach, was then seen as part of efforts to expand the reach of analog insulin Lispro to more patients and healthcare professionals in India. (Also see "Lilly-Lupin link revs up Indian diabetes" - Scrip, 2 Aug, 2011.)
Lupin gave no specific numbers on the progress of the ongoing alliance with Lilly in the diabetes segment, but told Scrip that the partnership had been a “fruitful one” and has “positively” impacted patients with “the effective insulin range” being made available to them.
“The fact that we continue to bolster our alliance with Eli Lilly is a testimony to the success of partnership,” Lupin maintained.
Teeming Market
While the launch of Lilly’s Cialis marks Lupin’s entry into the fast growing PDE-5 inhibitors segment, industry watchers say that a teeming market awaits.
Over a dozen drug firms are estimated to be already participating in the tadalafil market in India – data from Medindia, a provider of online health information and services, indicates that there are over 40 brands of tadalafil on the Indian market, across the different strengths.
Asked how it expects to build the Cialis brand in India given that there are several cut-price copies already available, Lupin told Scrip that it had a “strong dedicated sales force” for promoting the product and a “firm marketing strategy” in place to make the product a commercial success”. It provided no pricing specifics, though.
Competitors in the tadalafil segment include Cipla Ltd.,Ajanta Pharma Ltd, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and Zydus Cadila, among others, as per Medindia data.
The PDE-5 market in India is estimated to be valued at around INR3.90bn ($60.8m), of which tadalafil contributes around 23%. The market size has doubled since 2012 and is growing annually at 15%, data provided in the Lilly-Lupin statement said.
Other PDE-5 inhibitors too appear to have had a strong run in India. May 2016 data from AIOCD AWACS, a market research agency that tracks retail sales, suggests that sildenafil as a molecule constituted the 50th biggest market in India, though specifics could not immediately be ascertained.
Asked about competition from sildenafil for tadalafil, Lupin said: “We believe in the product's potential and its potential positioning in the space, hence we have entered into this partnership. “
Credible Clinical data
Interestingly, Lupin doesn’t seem too perturbed about any potential impact on the uptake of Cialis, at least for now, by the recent diktat from the Indian government aimed at encouraging generic name prescriptions by physicians instead of brand name medicines.
“This is still at a very nascent stage and unlikely to impact brands with credible clinical data supportings and with high compliance standards in the near term,” the company maintained.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) had in April this year backed the government’s controversial drive to encourage generic name prescriptions, reiterating that physicians should prescribe drugs with generic names “legibly and preferably in capital letters” and should ensure that “there is rational prescription and use of drugs”. In addition, the MCI’s April 21 circular, added that physicians found violating the requirements could face disciplinary action by the concerned state medical council or the MCI.