Blog #20 – Snapshot of Pharma Industry in early 80s
Asrar’s Note: Dear Pharma Veterans! I have
created this space for ‘Pharma Veterans’; all of us, not just me. I am filling
this space to begin with to keep it moving. You are most cordially invited to
write your thoughts/ ideas/ experiences. Please send these to me at asrar@asrarqureshi.com . Your contributions will be published
promptly and without editing. Please join the Community and the Movement.
What did the
industry look like in early 80s?
Squibb (later Bristol
Myers Squibb and now GSK) was big in cephalosporins. Velosef (cephradine) was
top selling and expensive. A 500mg capsule sold for 11.40 rupees; very high price
at that time. Squibb promoted and defended their product very aggressively and
kept their position. Eli Lilly was also in Cephalosporin with Ceclor
(cefaclor), Kefzol (cefazolin) and Keflin (cephalothin). Glaxo joined the race
with Ceporex (cephalexin). Kefzol sold well but was only injectable. Ceclor and
Ceporex were only oral. Velosef had the advantage that it was both oral and injectable.
Before cephalosporins,
penicillin was supreme. Beecham’s Penbritin (ampicillin), Ampiclox (ampicillin
+ cloxacillin) were best selling oral and injectables. Later it was reinforced (and
replaced) by Amoxil (amoxicillin) which is still a top selling drug in
combination Augmentin (amoxicillin + clavulanic acid).
On the anti-TB
front, Lederld had changed the shape of the treatment by introducing Myambutol
(Ethambutol). It replaced PAS, to be taken up to 24 tablets a day, and Streptomycin,
to be injected every day. Myambutol folder showing a pin-cushion (then present
on every office table, now obsolete) and the caption “Why Treat Your Patient Like
A Pin Cushion” was a great hit. The idea was also hit and Myambutol became a
huge product. When I joined Lederle, it was contributing over 30% revenue and
was the largest product in portfolio.
Anti-TB treatment was
further revolutionized by introduction of Rifampicin. Ciba marketed it as
Rimactane and combination Rimactazid. General Zia somehow targeted Ciba and slashed
the price of Rimactane/ Rimactazid by 50%. The company could not absorb it. It became
the reason for Ciba to roll back considerably.
In Diabetes, Diabenese
(chlorpropamide – Pfizer) was phasing out. Daonil (Glibenclamide – Hoechst) was
top selling. Then Glipizide was introduced by Upjohn and Carlo Erba. It was a
good molecule but did not do well. Then Syed Ahmed (ex-Upjohn) brought Servier
to Pakistan and along came Diamicron (gliclazide). It was in the same class of
sulphonyureas but it challenged the supremacy of Daonil. Hoechst claimed Daonil
was superior and Servier claimed Diamicron was safer due to less hypoglycemic
episodes. Diamicron caught up. It was more expensive, so it overtook in value
in a few years. Later it overtook in volume as well. It is a phenomenon worth
studying for marketing people.
Squibb was also the
first to bring ACE Inhibitor (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme) drug Capoten (captopril).
It was first in a new class and greatly impacted the treatment of hypertension
and cardiovascular diseases. I am a witness to hard, laborious work Squibb did
for Capoten. They established the concept of the therapy which benefitted the
later players. MSD brought in Renitec (enalapril) later and overtook Squibb
because the concept was already established.
Among aminoglycoside
class of antibiotics, Genticyn (gentamicin – Nicholas) sold very well. Later,
Nebcin (tobramycin – Eli Lilly) was a big seller but Genticyn remained first
line drug.
Some big products
tumbled in the late 70s/early 80s. Novalgin (dipyron – Hoechst) went into disrepute
after publication of a study linking it to agranulocytosis, a potentially fatal
condition. Dipyron was huge for Hoechst worldwide. They ran more studies and
tried to defend very hard but country after country stopped Dipyon. This also
affected their anti-spasmodic product Baralgin which also contained Dipyron.
Same problem was suffered by Boehringer Ingelheim for their Buscopan compositum
(hyoscine + dipyron). A little later, anti-spasmodic drugs of this class were officially
stopped by the regulatory bodies. It was a big blow to Hoechst and Boehringer. The
MoH Pakistan also banned the use of multi-dose vials. Heochst had three
products, Novalgin, Baralgin, Avil (pheniramine) MDV, Pfizer had
Oxytetracycline and so had some other companies. All these products were stopped
from further production. Stocks available in the market kept selling at premium
price.
Codeine was banned.
Pfizer sold Corex cough syrup which was one of the best-selling cough syrup in
the market. It sold by millions of bottles. There were others also but Corex
was the biggest and the most popular. Some addicts also took heavy dose of
Corex to get a little high. The absence of Corex was missed by genuine patients
more than the addicts. The addicts had other choices; the patients did not.
Andy Grove, Founding
Partner of Intel®, in his book ‘Only the Paranoids Survive’ calls this ‘Inflection
Point’, when business loses its very base. Camera films, long play records,
floppy discs are but some examples of ‘inflection point’.
From mid 80s onward,
the industry went into big changes……
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