are you saying the same Cipla branded generic medicine for example Cipcal (with Cipla branding /packaging and the standard information at the back of the tablet strip) is being sold at
50 % less than mrp in generic shops (these shops have big generic branding).??
Disclaimer : i am invested in medplus stock, this is not investment advice and i am not a sebi registered investment advisor. please do your due diligence before investing.
Yes exactly. The percentage may differ but huge difference.
The generic threat is a decade old; Let’s talk what data says…
The below info is taken from by Competition Commission of India, GOI. Link here…
https://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/whats_newdocument/Market-Study-on-the--Pharmaceutical--Sector-in-India.pdf
Market Size:
Generic Market of India: 97% terms of value.
87% is called branded generics.
10% is unbranded/generic generics.
The price difference is Hugh even among branded generics.
Like antibiotic category amoxicillin + clavulanic acid Price difference is from Rs. 40 to Rs. 336 for a pack of 6.
Price & volume difference between branded and unbranded generic is also Hugh.
AMOXYCILLIN per CAPSULE
Branded market leader: Volume (740305690) & Value Rs. 7.08
Unbranded Volume (83.7) & Value Rs. 3.49
Safely can say, some branded generic is cheap than some unbranded generic. Generic stores calculate the highest price branded generic and safely indicates that they are 80-90% cheap.
Case 2:
Paracetamol Tab 500 mg by
Ipca lab Rs. 14.22 while it’s Rs. 6 for unbranded generic - example for easy understanding.
Govt initiative to promote generic medicine:
Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Kendras: Total 8664+
E.g. Delhi has 376 stores
Note: I believe most of us may not have visited even one. Seems failed to create meaningful impacts.
What law says:
Indian Medical Council Regulations: Mandate doctors to prescribe generic versions of drugs. Also, pharmacies may sell generic drugs to patients even if the prescriptions specify the branded versions.
Discussion on generic is very old. Besides the government, many startups are also trying to make an impact but seem not successful so far, because many Dr rightly believes that branded medicine has better quality.
Disc: Above is my pov. Invested and views are biased.
Not sure of delhi, In my place there is huge demand for these stores, I usually buy here for my family. Concern in this stores is not all places have enough stock and in some areas they have ample stock, where i have to stand for min 30 minutes to get medicine.
Some of the concerns here are the quality of the product(I am not telling quality is bad, but many people who are refraining from this space share the same concern)
Yes, they are specialized shops selling mainly generics. Typically, their name board would mention “Generic Medicines” and boast “50-90% discount”. Nothing stopping them to sell other medicines, but their business model is deep discount on MRP, so branded medicines are kept only if there is no generic alternative available. State and central government are also operating generic medical shops, typically through franchise model.
Branded generics are mainly from well known pharma companies like Cipla, Mankind, etc. Rest are called unbranded generics though they also carry a brand, but not well known.
Med+'s private label medicines are basically generic. It is up-to you to decide whether to call it branded or unbranded. Unlike Med+, typical generic medical shops are just retailers, they don’t have similar private labels.
Organized generic medical retail is coming up. For example, Zeelab Pharmacy is one such retail chain which is mainly operating in northern India (they also have online deliveries). They mainly sell their own generic medicines manufactured through their parent company called Zee Laboratories Limited.
We can’t say ‘rightly’ since there is no evidence against generics. It is just a belief based on fear. Doctors can afford that since they have nothing to lose as they don’t pay for medicines. They have zero risk suggesting to buy branded formulations. Also there are incentives and heavy lobbying by Pharma companies. Doctors also got so much used to prescribing brands. Changing that habit is also hard, even as the govt asking them to avoid writing brands.
If generics are not reliable, govt wouldn’t go out of their way to promote them. Why would govt want to create public health crisis that will throw them out of power? It is up to people to be open to try generics alternatives for their own benefit. Once the perception changes, the retail dynamics will also change significantly. Yes, these are time taking. But I believe this change is inevitable.
Generic Medicine is a threat to medplus but it’s not easy for people to adopt generic medicine.
Most perception is that branded medicines are good. Generic medicines buy those people who have low income and little bit middle class people. People will buy more unbranded generic because of awareness. But at the time diseases will increase also.
But there is also a catch
Suppose if doctor prescribed me a medicine and i buy unbranded generic and result is not upto mark. Doctor will said u buy unbranded generic that’s why result is not coming.
So unbranded generic is a threat but it’s not as dangerous as companies like apollo,pharmeasy,netmeds,1 mg.
They will give huge compeition.
1 mg backed by tata excellent promoters
Netmeds backed by reliance excellent promoters
Apollo we all know That brand is also huge.
Now they tie up with amazon also .
Lot of competition to come.
We have to wait for management commentary and see whether they executed according to that they speak or not.
Even 85% discount is been given.
For instance a calcium supplements called cipcal from cipla is available @32/- per slip , where MRP is 88 in a pharmacy called generico ( now known as zeno health ) .
where as the same medicine is available on netmeds and Pharmeasy around 70/-
And on MedPlus it’s sold without any discount , 20% is only available if ur Bill is 1000/- above .
Similarly a Blood pressure drug named cosart H - Cipla is sold for 32/- on MRP of 88 and online pharmacies are selling around 15% discount… Again MedPlus offering nothing
In Mumbai generico has many stores and atleast in my area it’s a Big hit … And I’ve seen them successfully pushing people to buy generic for chronic disorder where long term medical attention is required…
The Industry MedPlus is operating is having cutthroat unlimited competition and competitors are such they are ready for cash burning … and every player is trying everything …
I understand that generico name has been changed to Zeno health.
have noticed a Zeno health store while travelling
Zeno also has an app.
let me check on the store and the app if the discounts are way more than other companies.
If yes then this can be a threat in the long run to medplus as the population gets more and more mobile savvy.
At the same time I also think the market is so huge that everybody will coexist ranging from stores who give just 10% discount on meds to the highest discounters.
Service will play a major role, if all meds in a prescription arent available in the store or within a few hours, customers get annoyed inspite of the discounts.
I have faced this multiple times at apollo for fairly common medicines.
Disclaimer : i am invested in medplus. This is not investment advice. Please do your due diligence before investing.
so the threat to medplus is only if the same Cipla medicine as in the above picture is sold way cheaper in zeno stores or app.
Discount of 76% on branded Cipla medicine cipcal is HUGE
Am I missing something here?
as far as Allegra by the mnc and algrot by the smaller company is concerned.
there is no threat to medplus(it can always increase its discount a little)
Because there is definitely a quality difference (this is my personal opinion) between
mnc branded medicines and their local counterparts.
Disclaimer : i am invested in medplus. this is not investment advice and i am not a sebi registered investment advisor. Please do your due diligence before investing.
Didn’t understand
Can u explain more
Zeno is giving generic medicine ?
Suppose if i order cipcal hd tablet 86 mrp from zeno will i get medicine with same label that is available in market at 32 rs or zeno is giving same salt medicine manufactured by someone else not by cipla at 32 rs?
Please clarify
They are providing same salt medicine but manufactured by someone else
Right?
I am not able to understand how can a product with MRP of 88 be sold at such heavy discount and that too medicine? Is it not threat to the brand owner Cipla? Does it mean that Cipla would have got even less than 32 for a product that consumers are sold at 88 in top pharmacies? This is extreme inefficiency in the system if thats the case…and why it is like this? Thanks
They are selling Cipla- Cipcal for 22/- which is a generic version of shelcal 500 from torrent pharma which is a branded version
My point was not about Allegra, it’s just how they are promoting generic medicines over branded one’s by giving ample amount of information and highlighting big price difference…
Same tatics they applying on store.
Even if doctors have written brand name, they are suggesting people for public , nothing wrong as by law doctors are supposed to write drug chemical name instead of brand name , and government is backing generic medicines as well…
Zeno health source medicine directly from manufacturer to the consumer . They have tie-up with many generic manufacturer especially cipla .
Not sure but prima facie it looks like sadly that’s the case .
Yes this inefficiency they are trying to resolve…
I am thinking then what stops an old Apollo to do this direct sourcing and why they havent done so far. What is the incentive in not doing direct sourcing? Had they done it, today they would be leaders in generics (branded or unbranded), inefficiency in system would be addressed because of huge volumes generated by these big pharmacies…and they would get their cut just like any retail who sources directly…so whats the catch why havent they done it or not doing it?
This is the reason I’m not invested… unforseen risk is okay for me, but foreseen risk i can’t handle…
Not only apollo , anyone to create a tie-up…
In future we might c such tie-ups between pharma companies and pharmacy .
At present y they are not doing, i don’t know.i I have to check.if anything comes i will update…
Note - will delete all the above post as it’s not related to MedPlus much… I’m just sharing the competitive intensity part and no much moat for MedPlus…
Feel free to flag as well…
I got what I was missing.
Only Cipla medicines have heavy discounts in zeno app (not all Cipla medicines)
I searched for multiple big pharma. company PRODUCTS for example pfizer, Sanofi, lupin, sun
the discount is only 10%.
maybe zeno has a special tie up with Cipla.
Zeno stores apparently offer flat 20% (need to check physically)
so overall other than Cipla products, there is no major advantage to Zeno app
Disclaimer : i am invested in medplus. this is not investment advice and i am not a sebi registered investment advisor. Please do your due diligence before investing.
It’s mostly cipla, not only cipla
I’ve seen intas, mankind and other few unknown generics medicine getting upto 82% discount.
They started with cipla partnership i guess because the first branch they started is in a place called Mulund in Mumbai and the only nearby big pharma company is cipla . Possibly location advantage even cipla might b getting…
Same discount and price for online- offline both .
All major chronic disease they have generic drugs…
