Date:12/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/01/12/stories/2008011250621100.htm

Back ‘Painless’ painkiller injection launched

Virendra Pandit

Ahmedabad, Jan. 11 Troikaa Pharmaceuticals Ltd has launched the world’s first ‘painless’ painkiller injection, Dynapar AQ 1ml, which has a market potential of Rs 80 crore in India annually, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Ketan Patel, said here.

He said that the product is a new version of the existing 3-ml injection, and causes no pain when injected. Unlike other diclofenac injections available in the market, which have to be administered in the buttock, Dynapar AQ 1ml can be administered in the arm muscle, thereby avoiding thick layers of fat and enhancing its efficacy.

Muscle Damage

The company also plans to set up an export-oriented unit here with an investment of Rs 140 crore soon. The unlisted, 25-year-old public limited company with a turnover of Rs 105 crore last fiscal and projecting a 35 per cent growth this year, has extended its global patent application on the new product across 110 countries.

Dr Vijaya Jaiswal, Vice-President (Medical Services), said the existing injections deliver 75 mg diclofenac in 3ml, a relatively larger volume of medicine causing muscle damage locally at the site of the injection.

Therefore, ironically, diclofenac injections supposedly administered to alleviate pain actually cause it at the site of injection. The new offering, developed over the last six years, is a high-concentration injection delivering the full dose of 75 mg in just 1ml, hence causing minimum muscle damage and no pain, she added.

Advantageous

The currently available diclofenac injections can be administered only in the buttock as the arm’s muscles cannot easily accommodate 3 ml volume of injection.

The new product is advantageous to overweight patients having thick layers of fat which hamper the absorption of the injected dose resulting in inadequate efficacy of the medicine. Dynapar AQ 1ml has been evaluated by clinical trials at major hospitals across the country, including Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai, Max Super speciality Hospital, New Delhi and Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pune, Mr Patel added.