Ayurveda pharma major The Himalaya Drug Company (HDC) plans to expand its livercare drug range by introducing a new herbal drug next year. The company already has a winning drug Liv.52 in its kitty which as per February 2002 ORG-retail audit data is the third largest drug brand worth Rs.60 crore.

"We are researching a new drug in the area of Livercare and expect to launch it in the next fiscal" Mr. Philipe Haydon, General Manager, Pharma Marketing, HDC, told The Financial Express. According to Mr. Haydon, the clinical trials for the new herbal livercare drug are nearly complete and the launch is slotted towards the next financial year.

Interestingly, the new drug will not be an extension of HDC's flagship brand Liv.52 but will be launched as a separate brand. Mr. Haydon, however, refused to give out the details.

Other competitive brands in this therapeutic segment include Dabur's LivFit, Livogen which was sold by Glaxo India Ltd. to E Merck India Ltd. While Liv.52 is the market leader, recent entrants like Dabur's LivFit is fast making inroads and eating into Liv.52's market share.

Meanwhile, HDC is readying to enter the women's healthcare segment for the first time with the launch of two new drugs in July 2002. "We are in the final stages of clinical trials for two herbal drugs for women's healthcare segment and expect to launch them in July," Mr. Haydon said but refused to disclose details.

According to industry sources HDC's women's healthcare products will include menopausal products, uterine tonics and topical applications among other things.

Some of the other new areas the company is working on include clinical research on diabetes, immunal disorders, HIV, oncology and tropical diseases.

HDC's new plans are in line with the company's new focus on launching products which will be safe alternatives to allopathic preparations. The company last month launched a new range Pure Herbs - which includes some of the industry's first all herbal formulations which are aimed at alleviating conditions earlier treated only with allopathic medicines.

HDC recently concluded a restructuring process which saw 'Himalaya Herbal Health Care' emerge as the unifying brand umbrella under which each product segment will operate. The product segments have broadly been classified into four - medicinal supplements, personal healthcare products pure herbs and animal health products. The popular OTC product range - Ayurvedic Concepts has now been brought under the personal care products segment.

The Rs.250-crore company has ambitious plans too: HDC is now aiming for Rs.500 crore mark by 2007 and has chosen to be a pureplay herbal contemporary medicine player after making R&D the key focus - thereby taking the lead in ayurveda-related R&D.