According to press release, Glaxo which (together with its associate company Burroughs Wellcome India Ltd) leads the domestic pharmaceutical market in terms of market share, will distribute Equal nationwide through its extensive distribution network. Equal was earlier being marketed by Heinz.

``Monsanto intends to leverage Glaxo's strength in pharmaceutical marketing to expand and grow the market for sweeteners by focusing on the diabetic segment,'' the release adds. Monsanto's nutritional products division and Glaxo plan to launch other internationally available variants of Equal in the near future to offer a wider choice to the consumer.

Equal will, however, continue to be manufactured by RPG LifeSciences at their Ankleshwar facility in Gujarat. RPG Life Sciences manufactures upto two lakh dispensers each containing 100 tablets and 80,000 cartons each containing 25 sachets at its facility per month.

Equal is currently available in both tablet and sachet forms. The tablets are priced at Rs 42 per dispenser containing 100 tablets. The sachets are available in a composite box of 25 sachets, priced at Rs 29 per box.

The company release adds that the product packaging has been revamped to give it a more international and contemporary look. The new packaging was launched by Glaxo India and Burroughs Wellcome India managing director Homi Khusrokhan and Monsanto director (South Asia) Terry Bunn.

The pharmaceutical and agrochemical industry has, in the recent past, witnessed the fructification of a host of co-marketing arrangements. Glaxo already co-markets formulations of Ranbaxy Laboratories, SmithKline Beecham etc, while Monsanto has appointed Rallis India as its co-distributor for a range ofproducts in the domestic market.