Novartis CEO (healthcare) Ranjit Shahani said that the finished formulation would initially be imported and the company would seek special permission from the Drugs Controller General of India to exempt Exelon from import duty. Currently, the import of Exelon would attract a duty of 42 per cent, resulting in treatment cost of Rs 150 per day (two capsules).

Shahani said that if the company was granted a waiver of import duty, the benefit would certainly be passed on to the consumer. Exelon is slated for launch in India in November this year and has been approved for use in more than 30 markets globally. US FDA approval for the drug is expected by the end of 1998.

Novartis says that it is "confident ofthe safety and efficacy of Exelon which was evaluated in the largest and most extensive clinical study of an Alzheimer's medication involving more than 3,300 patients worldwide". The Swiss healthcare giant is also expected to conduct similar trials in India at a later date.

Dr Peter Whitehouse, an international authority on Alzheimer's disease from the Alzheimer's University Centre, USA, said that though no definitive answers exist to the real causes of the disease, the risk groups include people above the age of 60, those with a family history of the ailment, women and those who have suffered head injury.

Genetic predisposition, abnormal protein deposits in the brain and certain environmental factors are suspected to play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Approximately 10 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer's disease, while roughly 0.5 per cent of the estimated 60 million aged Indian population (over the age of 60) is estimated to suffer from the disease.