Says HMR senior product manager N Anand: ``These clubs offer special value- added services to patients on Amaryl. Besides Amaryl's inherent strengths, these clubs will educate patients in the areas of diet, exercise, eye care, self injection, hypoglycemia etc under the banner of the diabetologists.'' Studies indicate that high levels of patient education/awareness facilitates better control of the disease, he added.

These clubs will, however, be established only in areas which have sufficient patients on Amaryl. There are currently 60 lakh diabetes patients on tablets in India today and three lakh new diabetics are added on to this population each year.

Available in twostrengths 1 mg and 2 mg, the drug will be marketed by a field force of 400 under the Marion flag in India. Each 1 mg tablet is priced at Rs 5.30, while the 2 mg drug costs Rs 10.30 per tablet. Hoechst is currently importing the bulk active while the formulation is done at the company's Ankleshwar facility.

Significantly, the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has recently approved a third indication for Amarly -- the second line use of the drug with type two diabetes product, metformin. HMR already has its own metformin based brand, Cetapin, in India and Amaryl's domestic launch is expected complete Hoechst's anti-diabetes assortment. Amaryl is already approved for first line therapy with type two diabetes. Amaryl and metformin improve glucose tolerance through different primary processes. The former stimulates insulin production while metformin aids insulin acceptance in cells.

Anand sees Amaryl notching up sales of Rs 5 crore in the first year even as it is expected to boost the company's share inthe oral diabetic care segment by almost 10 per cent by 2000. Currently, HMR controls 25 per cent of the Rs 140 crore oral anti-diabetes drug market.