Cipla director Amar Lulla told The Financial Express that the drug branded Lamivir (150 mg) is priced at Rs 50 per tablet as against the international prices ranging between Rs 120 and Rs 250 per tablet. The company has also exported 30 kilograms of the drug to certain overseas markets at approximately $8,000 per kg.

"We have already exported roughly 30 kg of lamivudine to south America and another 25 kg is expected to leave the Indianshores shortly. Lamivudine is the third anti-AIDS drug after zidovudine and stavudine manufactured from the basic stage by Cipla," Lulla added. The bulk drug for Lamivir is made at the company's Kurkumbh facility near Pune, while the formulation is done at the Bombay Central unit in Mumbai.

Lamivudine is a synthetic antiretroviral agent and acts by interfering with reverse transcriptase, an enzyme needed by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to multiply. A major worrying feature of the HIV virus is its ability to mutate, thus rapidly developing resistance against single doses.

Lamivudine is, hence, vital to the combination therapy approach now widely used to combat HIV and is a preferred component due to its synergistic effect and better efficacy and safety profile. Trials have shown that the addition of lamivudine to zidovudine containing regimens significantly slowed the progression of the HIV disease and improved survival. India is estimated to have an HIV-infected population of around fourmillion.

Meanwhile, even as analysts estimate the Indian lamivudine market to be worth roughly Rs 100 crore, Cipla's Lulla is confident of accounting for the "chunk" of the market given Lamivir's reasonable pricing strategy.

Analysts said, "given Cipla's aggressive pricing strategy and process improvement expertise, Glaxo's lamivudine will surely feel the heat. Moreover, the Indian company's 55 kg export order will vouch for the international acceptability of Cipla's product."

Significantly, Glaxo's lamivudine is also presently undergoing clinical trials in several countries for the treatment of hepatitis B, though it had not yet been registered for that use in western nations. Only after these trials will the DCGI entertain an application for registering the indication in India

Several doctors in India have, however, on their own, after reading medical reports of the efficacy of lamivudine, tried using it for the treatment in hepatitis B virus infection.

Consumers to gain

In the short runCipla would definetely take a major chunk of the estimated Rs 100 crore lamivudine market, which would definitely benefit the bottomline. But unlike other multinational subsidiaries, Glaxo India has the potential to take advantage of the low-cost domestic bulk drug manufacture.

For example, Glaxo India is the largest domestic manufacture of Rantidine, which in turn allows it to be price competitive in the domestic market. Hence, it is quite likely that the present price advantage enjoyed by Cipla may last till the time Glaxo India launches its lamivudine in India. The net result, however, is that the consumer gains.