| The Bangalore-based Himalaya Herbal Healthcare is filing for a US patent for its new hair fall treatment drug - Hair Loss Cream. The company is also planning to file for a global patent for this product, which claims to help hair growth as well.
This would be the first herbal drug in this segment to seek a US and global patent. Himalaya is learnt to be already in talks with companies and retail chains in many developed markets for marketing this product once it gets the patent. A patent guarantees 20 years of protection from a rival seeking to copy the product. Usually, it takes between 2-3 years for a company to acquire a US and global patent for a new drug.
“We have already applied for a US patent and would soon be filing for a global patent for this innovative drug. The decision to go for a global patent follows our trust in this well-researched drug, besides a phenomenal response to it in the Indian market,” says Ravi Prasad, president and CEO of Himalaya Drug Company.
Mr Prasad said the company had spent about seven years in developing the drug, which not only stops hair fall but even helps generation of new hair cells. The success rate is phenomenal, except in cases of hereditary baldness, he said.
“Hair loss is now a lifestyle ailment, caused by the excesses and strains of modern life,” he said. Lifestyle diseases are the fastest-growing therapeutic segment in the US. Lethal side effects of many allopathic drugs emerging after their massive use also drive people to seek herbal remedies.
The Rs 350-crore Himalaya is also in the process of setting up a greenfield manufacturing and R&D unit in Bidadi, near Bangalore, with an investment of Rs 165 crore for capacity expansion as well as development of new products.
Besides the domestic market, the company exports its products to 58 countries.
The global market for herbal healthcare is estimated at $65 billion. |
