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MSD India Chief On The Now, Next For Januvia, Gardasil And Keytruda’s Ascent

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

MSD India managing director Rehan Khan talks to Scrip about price adjustments for Januvia and the brand’s strong physician recall amid a tsunami of competition post loss of exclusivity, as also plans for Gardasil, which faces upcoming competition from Indian vaccines star Serum Institute. He also signals huge strides made by Keytruda, now the top cancer therapy in the country.

MSD India managing director Rehan Khan • Source: MSD India

Physicians often use sitagliptin and Januvia “interchangeably”, says MSD India’s managing director Rehan Khan describing the strong recall that the DPP-4 inhibitor commands in the country amid a groundswell of generic competition on the Indian market.

Khan appears unfazed by all the action for sitagliptin and its combination on the Indian market, where an estimated 75 competitors or so have jumped in with a wide variety of price points which he believes is “normal”. Merck & Co., Inc.’s Januvia (sitagliptin) and Janumet (sitagliptin/metformin hydrochloride) lost patent cover in July in India opening the floodgates to generics, some priced over 80% lower than the innovator blockbuster diabetes drugs

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