Growing statin clout spells gains for local pharma cos

The world’s most lucrative class of drugs has got another fillip, with research data indicating its wider usage. Statins—the cholesterol-lowering agents which are used for heart diseases—can help patients with lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), reveals data from Liverpool Hospital and Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia.

The data, generated by reviewing eight papers, suggests that in COPD patients, treatment with a statin may have a beneficial effect on several outcomes, including COPD exacerbation.

COPD is a lung disease, wherein the airways narrow down, limiting the flow of air to and from the lungs, causing shortness of breath. Though there are no exact estimates about number of COPD patients in the country, healthcare experts say the figure would be a few million, growing rapidly due factors like pollution and smoking.

Though the researcher, Claudia C Dobler from Liverpool Hospital, states that trials are required as the data is based on reviewing observational studies published between 2006 and 2008, experts say that this could open a big gateway for the statin market in the years to come.

Statins, which had sales of $26 billion in 2008, include blockbusters like Pfizer’s Lipitor (which once had annual sales of $13 billion), AstraZeneca’s Crestor, Merck’s Zocor & Mevacor.

Statins have huge potential in India, which, the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts, will be home to 60% of the world’s heart patients by 2010. Currently, the domestic statin market is approximately Rs 1,000 crore, growing at single digit rate per year, with companies like Biocon, Ranbaxy, Orchid and Cipla producing generics.

An official from an Indian drugmaker, which makes simvastatin, says, “It will take time before wider usage is proved and allowed, but it will definitely help in increasing sales.”
Statins have been evaluated in a number of indications other than cholesterol control, and have been found to be beneficial in aortic stenosis (when aortic valve becomes narrow, impeding flow of blood), arrhythmia (irregular beating of the heart), says A G Ravi Kishore, senior consultant, cardiologist, Narayan Hrudayalaya Hospital in Bangalore.

According to K K Sethi, co-chairman and MD, Delhi Heart & Lung Institute, statins have also been evaluated in other areas like heart failure, and before a bypass surgery.

“These evaluations have thrown mixed results. With this new data, randomised trials are required to prove that statins can be effective in COPD.”

The researchers from Liverpool Hospital are in the process of recruiting participants for the trial to prove the benefits of statins in COPD.