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A GROUP
of local pharmaceutical companies have banded together
to form InnoGen Pharma Group Inc., and launched in the
local market an innovative generic medicine most
prescribed for hypertension, selling it 80-percent lower
than the drug originator’s cost.
InnoGen
has distributed to major drugstores nationwide its
10-milligram generic pill Amlodine that only costs
P19.75, compared with P74.75 of the original brand.
Amlodine
is an antihypertensive medicine that prevents the
narrowing of the blood vessels, allowing oxygen-rich
blood to flow freely.
InnoGen
said the medicine lowers blood pressure and also treats
angina, a piercing pain in the chest that results from
lack of oxygen in the heart muscles.
It uses
besylate as its salt component.
The
Besylate salt of Amlodine is described as the most
preferred salt compound, which demonstrates improved
solubility, stability and processability compared with
other salt forms such as maleate and camsylate.
In a
statement, InnoGen said that last year, the Department
of Trade and Industry allowed the importation from India
of at least eight most-prescribed medicines, including
Amlodipine Besylate, the generic name of a highly
popular drug against hypertension that is priced at
about half the cost of its brand equivalent in the
Philippines.
Helen
Grace Florentino, InnoGen Patient Care director, said
that “only a few Filipino pharmaceutical companies have
the capability to develop these kinds of drugs,” and
claimed that their company’s research and development
capability is on a par with other companies in the world
and is composed of competent and dynamic professionals
in pursuit of excellence.
Florentino stressed that “there is no need to import
these kinds of medicines because we can manufacture them
here,” adding that this greatly reduces the cost of
medicines “because we do not have to go through the
hassles and rigors of transporting and hauling, as well
as problems that go with warehousing and storage, where
temperature may not conform to the product’s allowable
resistance to heat or cold in changing weather
conditions.”
The nine
companies that united to form the umbrella company of
InnoGen are each assigned to cover therapeutic areas.
The
Aldril Pharmaceutical Inc. produces neurology and
psychiatry medicines; Eadrix Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
dermatology; Metz Pharmaceuticals Inc., pulmonology;
Randril International Co. Inc., rehabilitation medicines
and anti-infectives; Solvang Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
obstetric and gynecology; Westfield Pharmaceuticals
Inc., cardiology and gastroenterology; Vamsler
Philippines Inc., internal medicines; Vitalink Health
Products Inc., endocrinology and cardio-metabolic; and
Dr. Zen’s Research Inc., anti-obesity and medical
devices.
InnoGen
provides second-to-innovator pharmaceutical products,
most of which are off-patent molecules, while some were
licensed out through partnerships.
It has
also invested in technology transfer and partnerships
with big pharmaceutical companies abroad, in a bid to
access the latest technologies in the industry.
Its
thrust is geared toward improving existing products into
new forms and much better drugs that are cost-effective,
efficient and of excellent quality.
InnoGen
currently employs five technological methods used in the
production of medicines.
Pelletech, or Pellet Technology, modifies the release
pattern of medicines through the use of specialized
pellets.
The
specialized pellets also help improve compliance for the
patients, as they change dosage regimens to simpler and
convenient course of therapy, wherein medicines taken
twice a day can be administered on a once-a-day dosage
regimen.
TasteSmart, or Taste Masking, is commonly used in
pediatric preparations to improve the taste of drugs and
make them palatable to children.
InnoTabs,
or SR Tablets, alter the physical and chemical
properties of drugs to modify the release pattern of the
active pharmaceutical ingredients, thus improving
patient’s compliance with medicine intake and is more
cost-effective.
InnoSolve, or Mouth Dissolving Process, allows patients
to dissolve tablets in the mouth without water.
InnoFix,
or Fixed Dose Combination Tablets, is a technology for
incorporating two or more active ingredients combined in
a single-dosage form.
This
means the patient does not have to take multiple drug
intake but just one that combines all the chemical
properties of several medicines under one form that is
much easier to administer.
These
medicines are all locally produced by Lloyd Laboratories
Inc. in its pharmaceutical manufacturing plant at the
First Bulacan Industrial City in Malolos City, Bulacan.
The
manufacturing company in Bulacan is one of the country’s
leading contract toll manufacturers of pharmaceutical
and related products and is an ISO 9001:2000-certified
company.
Lloyd
products pass standards set by the AustralianTGA, US FDA
and Asean QC, and uses the latest state-of-the-art
technology such as the high-performance liquid
chromatography, photodiode array and fluorescence
detection. |
