Going off-patent, key diabetes drug likely to get 50-70% cheaper

Several drugs going off-patent in the anti-diabetes category have shaken up the market share dynamics

With a key anti-diabetic drug molecule set to go off-patent this month, the Indian pharmaceutical industry expects at least 200 new brands from 50 companies to enter the market in the next two months. Diabetes patients stand to benefit from this as the drug’s prices are expected to crash 50-70 per cent soon, say industry insiders.

Sitagliptin, developed by Merck & Co, is set to lose its patent, and a rush to launch copycat drugs is expected in the market. Gliptin is the nickname for a relatively new group of medicines used to treat Type-2 diabetes. The oral anti-diabetes market in