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The Rediff Business Interview/Raghavendra Rao

'Not having an erection need not be the best way to control population'

Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals is a comparatively new entrant in the field of drugs. Set up in 1993 in Madras by a group of Oman-returnees, Orchid started producing and exporting Cephalosporin antibiotics in 1994. Today, it is a Rs 2.4 billion company. And famous.

Famous because it has just secured permission from the Drug Controller of India to make and export Sildenafil Citrate, the much-talked-about anti-impotency drug of the century.

Naturally, Orchid's managing director Raghavendra Rao is very excited. "Indian scientists are second to none. The achievement gives us tremendous amount of satisfaction," Rao told Shobha Warrier.

How difficult was it to get a patent for the anti-impotency drug, Sildenafil Citrate?

We did not get a patent for the drug. We only got permission to export. Of course, we follow a different process, different from Pfizer, so we sought permission from the government to manufacture and export.

So, you would export without any brand name.

That's right.

Which countries are you going to export?

The demand is there all over the world. But we can only export to the countries where Pfizer is not selling under their brand name Viagra. At present, only Pfizer is selling the drug under a brand name. But there are many countries where Pfizer does not have the patent.

Last week, you were in Kuwait. Has your visit anything to do with the drug?

No, my Kuwait visit has nothing to do with this drug. We earn our bread and butter from other products like Cephalosporin antibiotics, which we manufacture in our Madras factory. Yes, we have a very good market in the Middle East. But we are getting inquiries for this anti-impotency drug from all over the world. We'll be selling to the Far East, Middle East, South America, Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe, etc. The response has been tremendous and the demand explosive.

When did your R&D department start research on this drug and how long did it take you to manufacture it?

We started working on it in January. In four months time, we could come out with the drug. We keep track of what other companies are doing and whenever we find that the products are interesting for our company, we start concentrating on them. We applied to the DCI in the first week of May after Pfizer's drug hit the market. We'll start exporting the drug Sildenafil Citrate, without any brand name by the end of July or early August.

Are there any other pharmaceutical companies making this drug?

As far as I know, no country other than India makes this because the patent law is very clear that even the active ingredient or the medium cannot be made by anybody else other than Pfizer in countries like Korea, Japan, America, Europe, Canada. Because Pfizer has not registered anything in India, Indian companies can manufacture this drug. As far as I know, other than us, Cipla and Ranbaxy have been given the licence. Ours was the first application and thus we got the licence to export.

Are you not looking at the Indian market?

We have already applied for permission and are awaiting it. As soon as we get it, we'll introduce the drug in the form of a tablet.

The anti-impotency drug's launch across the world has been marked by a lot of hype. How do you feel about this?

See, it is because of the all-pervasive nature of this issue. Many people in the world may have hypertension, many people may have diabetes, but this is something, which affects a large number of people, according to statistics.

So, the worldwide market is very, very large because we are talking about nearly 150 million men who could be affected by this problem. Another thing is, if it is found effective, people may use it frequently. So, we are talking about multiples of billions of dollars for this one product if we follow the present pricing of Pfizer. That is the reason for this hype.

Do you need medical prescription for this drug?

Yes, it is a prescription drug. And it has some side effects like headache, blurred vision for a few hours. For example, it cannot be combined with the drugs given for heart treatment. People who have high blood pressure or diabetes, cholesterol, etc should be given this drug with caution. It cannot be used indiscriminately. In some percentage, even in normal men, the side effects will be there.

Still, you feel there is a huge market for this drug all over the world?

Yes. Because it has already been proved that it is quite effective for the purpose it is intended to. As long as the basic purpose is achieved, people will continue to use this. Every drug has some side effect or the other.

Have you done any research on the marketability of the drug?

You should understand one thing. The product all over the world is less than 90 days old. Pfizer got approval from the authorities on March 29 and issued it to the market on April 7. So, it is very difficult to say how the market will react to it.

It is also very difficult to estimate the number of impotent men in the world because we can only go by the research reports published in magazines and newspapers. They say that ten per cent of men are impotent. But when you look at it at the macro level, you don't see ten per cent of your colleagues or acquaintances without children!

Probably this statistic has to be taken with a pinch of salt. May be less, may be more, we do not know. It is very difficult to do a survey in this matter.

But we at Orchid have to make a beginning, we have to start exporting and see how it goes. Anyway, it is a very big market because of the sheer number of people and the frequency with which this drug will be used.

How often do impotent men have to use it?

It has to be taken a few hours before the act. It is also said that normal people also can have an enhanced performance if they use it, and they claim that even women can have better arousal. It is an added advantage to the companies that make this product because the market is getting enlarged.

What exactly does the drug do?

It increases the blood supply to the penis so that the users will have a better erection. That is the reason why heart patients are not allowed to use it.

How long does the effect of the drug last?

Generally six hours and sometimes it can last up to 12 hours too. The prescribed dosage is one tablet a day.

If somebody takes it for a longer time, will it have any side effects?

Studies based on phase 2, phase 3 trials done by Pfizer and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, USA, shows that there won't be any side-effects if somebody uses it regularly. See, it is symptomatic for the moment, for the day. It is not like a steroid where metabolical changes take place.

Do you think the euphoria will last?

Had it been just hype without any effect, the euphoria would not have lasted these ninety days. See, if the medicine has any positive impact, it will be known immediately. There is no waiting time for the result. If it were to die, it would have died by now. So, it will sustain.

But where will it lead to in an over-populated country like India?

We can supply condoms free, for example! It is actually the extension of the freedom of an individual and he has very right to decide. Not having an erection need not be the best way to control population.

Recently there was a report that a 64-year-old woman has sued the drug company because her 80-year-old husband left her after he started using the drug. So, will this drug be breaking homes rather than making homes?

I don't think so. You cannot link incidents like this to the drug. This drug does not have the psychological capabilities to stimulate a man to leave his wife. My feeling is that it will unite more couples. You can look at incidents like this in another way too. For example, a woman can run away with another man because her husband cannot have an erection. So, this drug will make more homes than break them.

It was reported that this drug is available in India in black. Is it true?

Yes, it is. When something is available in black, it will be for a higher price. But when we get the licence, we will be able to sell it at a lower rate. Naturally, the black market will vanish then. Who will pay a higher price when the same thing is available at a cheaper price in an open market?

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