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HEALTH
WA+CH
Man's
Best Friend
Help
is now just a pill away for the Indian men facing the ignominy of impotence.
Cheap and effective, the desi version of Viagra is finally here.
By Supriya
Bezbaruah
For
millions of Indian men slack with anticipation, the magic pill couldn't
have come a minute too soon. Four years after it wowed the world, the
Viagra Phenomenon is officially in India, with various desi versions of
the anti-impotence drug set to storm the market. To begin with, the Drug
Controller General of India (DCGI) has allowed three pharmaceutical companies-Ranbaxy,
Zydus-Cadila Healthcare and Torrent Pharmaceuticals-to market the newly
developed versions. While Penegra, a Zydus-Cadila product, has already
been introduced, Ranbaxy's Caverta is scheduled to step in within a week.
About 11 other companies will follow suit in the next few months.
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| Illustrations
by Nilanjan Das |
The pill
treats erectile dysfunction or ED, as doctors term male impotence, with
the disorder affecting one in every three men who suffer from mild to
severe forms of the disease. Explains Ajit Saxena, senior consultant urologist
at Delhi's Apollo Hospital: "These patients have a normal blood supply
to the penis but for some reason cannot effect local dilation of the blood
vessels, so no erection takes place." The reasons can range from
diabetes, hypertension and neurogenic causes (where the nerves are severed)
to liver damage and sheer performance anxiety. Sildenafil citrate, as
Viagra is scientifically known, acts by inhibiting an enzyme that blocks
the blood supply to the penis. This consequently increases the supply
and leads to erection.
It isn't
as if the disorder doesn't have optional cures, but no treatment matches
the drug in the sheer simplicity of its administration. Which explains
the euphoric reception to its arrival. "We can now give oral tablets
to the patients," says Saxena, "and it will also stop them from
going to the quacks." For eminent Mumbai-based andrologist Vijay
Kulkarni, "it's one more tool for treating the patient".
Tempering
the ebullience, however, are experts who sound a word of caution. Viagra
is not, they emphasise, an aphrodisiac, as is widely assumed. The potential
danger arising from its misuse is why it has been cleared only as a prescription
drug. Says DCGI Ashwini Kumar: "It has been approved on the condition
that it be used cautiously under therapeutic conditions." For the
genuine patient though, the readily available, cheap, effective tablet
is nothing but good news.
After Viagra's
four-year run in the market worldwide, the drug's effectiveness is not
disputed and is bound to have a big impact. But there's a flipside. Sildenafil
can be fatal for people on nitrates and those with cardio-vascular problems.
If taken with nitrates, it reduces the patients' blood pressure dramatically.
Possible temporary side-effects are headache and nausea. A more serious
effect is loss of blue-green colour vision. The correct dose is, hence,
of prime importance; all Indian versions of sildenafil will be available
in 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg doses.
Misuse of
sildenafil can also lead to tragi-comic mishaps. Doctors cite numerous
instances where normal people took Viagra to enhance their sexual performance.
The result was an embarrassing and painfully prolonged erection that lasted
for days and required surgery to rectify. Both doctors and manufacturers
emphasise that sildenafil is a treatment, not a cure. It temporarily acts
on a specific part of the body but it does not solve the underlying reason
for the disorder. "Sexual dysfunction is about more than just Viagra,"
says Kulkarni, "Psycho-sexual counselling is very important."
All companies-Torrent, Cadila and Ranbaxy-emphasise the need for patients
to be educated by urologists, endocrinologists and psychiatrists.
Side-effects
notwithstanding, the pharmaceutical companies are upbeat. "We're
on top of the world," exclaims a jubilant S.D. Kaul, regional director,
Asia and Middle East, Ranbaxy. He has reason to be. With India's billion-plus
population, the sheer numbers translate to tremendous market potential.
"The market would run to about Rs 50-100 crore. It's a blockbuster
drug," says Kaul. Other companies provide similar estimates. But
with so many vying for a slice of the pie, a bit of shine may rub off
soon. Stiff competition will define price and profit margins-to the patient's
benefit. The approximate price of the new drug is Rs 20 per tablet, which
is already a big gain for patients who are currently shelling out Rs 500
per tablet for the imported Viagra in the grey market. The affordability
of the genuine sildenafil brands could also adversely affect the popularity
of the anti-impotence herbal drugs.
With the
product being identical, marketing strategy will decide the winners and
losers in the Great Indian Sildenafil Contest. Brand name, colour and
even the shape of the tablets are being depicted as distinguishing features
to gain an edge in the market.
As for Ranbaxy's
brand, Caverta, "the name derives from the cavernosa, the part of
penis that plays a vital role in erection", explains Kaul. Torrent's
choice, Androz, derives from andrology, a science that deals with the
study of the masculine constitution, according to R. Balasubramanian,
vice-president, marketing, Torrent. Penegra was Cadila's choice both because
it refers to problems of penetration, and the penis, says President Ganesh
Nayak. Blue and diamond shaped, the Penegra pill is an exact copy of Viagra.
Ranbaxy's red triangular tablets are deliberately designed to be different,
while Torrent's tablets are blue and round. "We have made a conscious
effort to retain the round shape like regular tablets to tell the patients
that ED is neither fun nor serious. It's just another curable condition,"
says Balasubramanian.
An India-specific
marketing challenge for the companies is people's reluctance to talk openly
about sexual matters. Says Kaul: "We don't just have to create a
brand but also a market, as ED is a hush-hush affair here." Besides,
impotence is not just any other disease like diabetes or malaria. Striking
at the very core of manhood, its impact finds an echo in every aspect
of man's life: the wife doomed to a celibate existence and the boss stuck
with a depressed, less-productive employee. Small wonder then that the
drug is seen as the best thing to happen to the Indian male in a long,
long time.
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METRO TODAY
Sagarika
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