Ayurveda takes on allopathy in AIDS fight
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/10/22/stories/200210220253010
0.htm
P.T. Jyothi Datta

NEW DELHI, Oct. 21

IT may not be long before a certain green-eyed Bollywood diva or the
man who almost won India an Oscar Award this year are roped in to
spread awareness on AIDS in the country. But this and much more are
on the anvil in the anti-AIDS segment, with Maharashtra-based
Veronica Laboratories Ltd (VLL) set to take on the Goliaths of
the "highly-cartelised" drug industry with Herbtab, an herbal anti-
AIDS drug.

Mumbai-based Enpee Healthcare Ltd owns Herbtab. But its marketing
would be spearheaded by the Rs 22-crore VLL, following a 10-year
marketing deal that VLL recently inked with Enpee. India alone has an
estimated 3.8 million HIV positive people - , but VLL has no easy
road ahead as it seeks to propel itself into the drug industry's big
league.

Given the stiff competition from allopathic counterparts, Mr Bipin
Shah, MD, VLL, told Business Line that Herbtab would be supported by
social marketing in India, tie-ups abroad and public interests
campaigns. Domestic pharma big daddies to contend with in this
segment include: Ranbaxy, Cipla, Aurbindo and Hetero, while
GlaxoSmithKline is among the biggest global players.

"Herbtab is born out of Ayurvedic and Unani therapies and has no
toxic elements or side-effects. Unlike the allopathic anti-AIDS
cocktail that need to be taken life-long - Herbtab needs to be taken
only for 12 to 15 months. It strengthens the immune system by
facilitating increase in CD4 blood cells, vital for immunity. And
this has been proved in clinical trials," he claimed.

Priced at Rs 10 per tablet, the dosage per patient is three tablets
taken three times a day or about Rs 2,700 per month. "Allopathic
drugs cost between Rs 1,000 to Rs 20, 000 per month, per patient. And
yet, anti-AIDS drugs clocked a sales of only Rs 30 crore last year,"
he points out.

Cost to patient being of paramount concern, VLL seeks to network with
non-governmental organisations and government-run institutions to
make Herbtab available to the consumer at one-third the cost, Mr Shah
informs

Multi-centre Phase III trials, at an Rs 5-crore budget, are being
negotiated with premier government institutes in New Delhi, Bangalore
and the North East. After successful trials at Mumbai's KEM Hospital,
Herbtab is available in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It
would be available nationally in three months.

Roping in Bollywood

VLL has roped in Dr Jabbar Patel, director of Bollywood-flick
Ambedkar, for a documentary on AIDS, expected to feature silver
screen's biggest names. In the past, Shabana Azmi and more recently,
Madhuri Dixit had featured in anti-AIDS campaigns. But the grapevine
has it that film world's leading model-turned-actress and actor-
turned-producer may be roped in this time. Unwilling to spill the
beans, Mr Shah revealed that different regions would have their
respective matinee-idols in the documentary. Meanwhile, public
interest campaigns, to be aired in a month, are being done by
Avishkar Advertising Services.

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