Sergel is heading towards generating Tk 1,000 crore in annual sales as over Tk 900 crore worth of the gastrological medicine was sold in the first nine months of this year, according to information technology company IMS Health.
This is one of the largest selling products in the country.
Md Halimuzzaman, CEO of Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said he was proud of this single brand of the company reaching such high sales, although it had not reached Tk 1,000 crore yet.
Since the customer base is high, the sales growth now appears low compared to previous years but there is potential for further growth, he said.
The second and third-highest selling medicine brands are also from the same gastrological generic. Sales of Maxpro and Pantonix have reached Tk 486 crore and Tk 376 crore respectively. In the pharmaceuticals market, the market share of gastrologic products is the highest and Sergel has earned the highest market share over the years for its acceptance among doctors and patients, said Halimuzzaman.
Among the 10 top-selling drug brands, five are gastrological medicines.
Sergel holds a 2.67 percent market share, with sales worth Tk 918 crore in the nine-month period.
Maxpro holds a 1.41 percent market share and the market share of Pantonix is 1.10 percent, the data showed.
Apart from Sergel, some other brands have become popular over the years, said Halimuzzaman.
The fourth-highest selling drug in the nine months period was Napa, with sales reaching Tk 338 crore.
Sales of Cef-3, Monas, Exium, Seclo and Bizoran are also above Tk 200 crore.
Almost all the drug companies have their own brands of these drugs, which bear the same molecular formula, but some gained popularity on gaining people’s confidence. And this confidence passes from person to person, he said.
There are 31 generic drugs that sell for over Tk 100 crore. The data showed that sales of 79 generic medicine were above Tk 50 crore.
The data indicates that although the sales of individual brands of products of some companies may not be high, but the brand value of the companies themselves ensures high sales of all their medicines.
Jubayer Alam, company secretary of Renata PLC, said most people over 18 years of age take gastrological medicine as there is no discipline when it comes to food intake and habits.
Due to this, many people suffer from ailments affecting the digestive system, he said. Demand is growing for rosuvastatin drugs, which lowers cholesterol, as many people are dying of heart attacks, he added.
Even in developed countries, demand for such medicine is growing, so it also may see a good growth in the country, he added.
“We are really happy that we can serve a huge number of patients to overcome ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux disease and hyperacidity related problems with Maxpro,” Alam said.
“All Maxpro formulations are manufactured in USFDA, UKMHRA and Anvisa approved facilities so that patients get the best esomeprazole of the country,” he added.