‘Mylan can set a new standard in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in India’

What are the hallmarks of Mylan’s strategy for the India market? How would you differentiate Mylan’s strategy from its global pharma peer group?

Rajiv Malik

In the next five years, our goal is to build Mylan’s brand equity in India and position ourselves as a high quality, innovative and cutting-edge pharmaceutical company with global standards. Long-term, we aim to be a top ten company in India.

While we understand that we will be entering a highly competitive market, the key to differentiate ourselves from local players and other MNCs is by educating Indian physicians, pharmacists, customers and consumers about what the Mylan brand stands for unmatched supply reliability, outstanding customer service, operational integrity and high quality products. Our sales force will be another key differentiator. We have hired what we believe is the best talent and have provided them with world class training to empower them to be Mylan’s brand ambassadors in India.

We will start in India with our high quality ARV portfolio and we believe that Mylan can set a new standard in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in India by providing healthcare providers and those living with the disease access to high quality, affordable medicines and by supporting physicians in their efforts to educate and treat their patients through our innovation, reliability and service excellence. Today, Mylan is widely respected for the quality, dependability and affordability of its ARV franchise, and the company’s ARV products are used by nearly one-third of all patients receiving treatment today for HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

Mylan has also introduced a number of ARV innovations, for instance producing single blister ‘combo’ packs, which provide a reduced pill burden and once-a-day dosage. Mylan also developed three FDA/ WHO-approved heat-stable ARV products, which can be distributed and used in countries where refrigeration infrastructure is not widely available. In addition, Mylan has been a global leader in producing ARV formulations for paediatric use.

The Mylan portfolio will initially include a comprehensive range of 18 products, including heat stable, combination, and pediatric formulations. What are the other products in the pipeline, which were specifically developed for markets like India, which have warmer climates, as well as little or no access to proper storage conditions?

Innovation is one of Mylan’s core values and we are constantly looking at ways to innovate across our product portfolio – as we have done with ARVs – and we will seek to bring to the Indian market additional innovative, market-appropriate products in other therapeutic categories over time. We cannot comment specifically on those products at this time.

What is the projected timeline to launch other ARV products in India?

We have launched a comprehensive portfolio of ARV products, composing 18 of the 43 products, which Mylan has in its global portfolio. We will launch additional ARV products depending on the market feedback and demand, as appropriate.

In addition to providing a broad range of ARV products, Mylan has said that it will launch several initiatives aimed at educating and supporting medical professionals in their efforts to more effectively treat their patients and helping patients better manage their disease. Could you give more details of these educational efforts, in terms of timeline of launch, etc.

Mylan will work closely with medical professionals to ensure that patients comply to the prescribed treatment by providing various tools and training.

Which are the other therapeutic categories that the company is targeting for India and what is the timeline for these plans?

Mylan expects to enhance its commercial portfolio in India by adding additional therapeutic categories. We intend to roll out these launches over time and will provide additional details on these areas in conjunction with launch.

What is the projected sales force expansion for the next few years?

We will continue to expand our sales force to meet market needs and to support our ongoing business expansion into additional therapeutic categories.

At present, what is Mylan India’s share of the global revenues? Given the growth potential in India, could you give some indication of what India’s share could be in the next couple of years?

We do not break out revenues at the country level. In 2011, third party net revenues for the Asia-Pacific region, which includes India, were at $1.2 billion. We have indicated that our India commercial entry and our ARV business are both important strategic growth drivers for Mylan over the next several years. We anticipate ~13 per cent compound annual growth in revenues from 2011-2016 in our global ARV business, and we are targeting to become a top ten player in India.

Which policy issues could become speed breakers to the growth potential of the India market?

As with any market, health care policies, including pricing and reimbursement are keys in driving growth. Currently, discussions are taking place in India on increasing its expenditures on health, including providing universal health care, which depending on the exact scope of the changes and implementation, could contribute to accelerated growth.

OPPI has stressed that India’s weakness is lack of accessibility rather than affordability of healthcare services, including medicines. What are Mylan’s efforts in the accessibility space and is this part of the strategy for India?

Mylan’s mission is to provide the world’s seven billion people with access to high quality medicine. We strongly agree that cost is only one of the many barriers to access and we are working to do for access what we have already done for affordability in ARVs. In fact, we strive every day to break down barriers to access to medicine, in India and around the world. These barriers include lack of education/awareness, inadequate infrastructure, restrictive laws, lack of appropriate treatment options, hurdles to testing, etc.

The US has its Obamacare/ Affordable Healthcare Act. Do you see chances of health becoming a political issue in India like in the US? Would this have a good or adverse impact on the pharma industry and healthcare as a whole?

Currently, discussions are taking place in India to provide access to quality and affordable healthcare in the form of a universal healthcare plan. Both the central and state governments have a vital role in translating this goal into reality. The impact on the pharma and healthcare industry in India depends on the scope and implementation of the plan.

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