Lilly bullish on outsourcing

NEW DELHI: Eli Lilly is planning to make India a major sourcing base for global supply of drugs. The pharmaceutical MNC has also identified a suit of patented cancer and diabetes drugs, currently under development in the US, to launch in the Indian market post 2005.Says Rajiv Gulati, CMD, Eli Lilly India, Increasingly, Lilly will source a larger part of global requirement of drugs, commercial process development and clinical trial needs from India.It will be primarily a third-party sourcing, though a manufacturing facility is a possibility.Eli Lilly has just started sourcing insulin from Sun Pharma's Hallol plant at Baroda. Lilly also sources from Austin-Shasun's (a JV company) plant at Chennai.Gulati says Eli Lilly is also conducting human trials in India to launch a new version of insulin, which can be inhaled, to treat diabetes.Keeping in view the product patent regime from 2005, Lilly will launch two drugs to treat cancer, two for diabetes, one for erectile dysfunction, one for post menopause-related problems and one for treating sepsis. The plan is to launch one patented drug every year, Gulati says.Two cancer drugs, Affinitac and Alimta — in injection form — will hit Indian market in 2005 and early 2006 respectively. In 2004, Lilly will launch Forteo, an injectable biotech drug for treating post-menopause problems.All these drugs will be launched in the US and Europe one year before the India launch. Indian market is becoming crucial for Eli Lilly, Gulati says.In early 2005, Eli Lilly will launch, Cialis, an oral drug for treating erectile dysfunction. According to Gulati, Lilly will also explore the possibility of entering into a joint marketing deal with Indian pharma firm to promote this mass-market drug. He claims that Cialis is a more effective drug that Viagra, a popular drug used for the same problem.The diabetes drugs to follow are PKC Inhibitor, in injection form and Glip, an oral drug. While PKC, a new generation diabetes drug will be able to reverse and improve diabetes-related symptoms like blindness, a co-marketing deal would be considered for Glip, Gulati says.In October this year, Eli Lilly is launching Xigris, an injectable biotech drug for treating Sepsis, a disease of organ failure and eventual death due to blood infection. Eli Lilly has tied up with 15 ICU in-charge of leading hospitals in the country for promoting this drug.