THE PHARMA FORMULA

A bustling crowd of eager customers, the cash counter constantly busy, the mothers with their brawling kids, youngsters walking in and out of the glass door. Not a sight one usually sees at medical/general store. But this is no ordinary medical shop. Bhatia Medical and General Store, a medical cum super market set in Vakola, Santacruz, is one of kind where one gets all possible medicines, grocery, beauty products, confectionary and daily need items.A smiling Mrs. Kalpana Bhatia is at the counter where the bills are cashed and medicines sold. She is the part owner of the store along with Husband Mr. Rakesh Bhatia and Father in law, Narendradas Bhatia.

Being the only store in Vakola where one can find almost anything under the sun, the resident of here have benefitted from this for over 25 years. “My Father- in- law bought this place in 1984 when the prices of commercial spaces in Vakola were not very high”, says Kalpana Bhatia. He started this as a small drug store and gradually started keeping goods as per the demand of the customers. By 1995, Bhatia drug store became Bhatia Medical and general store.

The change in lifestyle of people has led to a change in the overall health of the people too. Having been exposed to the luxuries and comforts of life, their health has taken a toll.

“I remember, when I started this business, the number of people coming in daily for purchase of medicines was less than 50. But now, I see customers of all age groups buying medicines for every small and big health issue. It’s disheartening to see young people taking medicines for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol”, says Mr. Narendradas Bhatia.

Today, Indian pharmaceutical companies are looking to expand business in rich countries, which, critics say, will come at the expense of the world's poor. The intent is to follow the footsteps of India's information-technology (IT) sector, which parlayed lower costs and improved innovation into India's greatest modern success story.

“The growth of the healthcare OTC (over the counter) market is taking pharma, healthcare and other allied marketers by a storm. Mankind is diligently and surely stepping in to OTC healthcare markets through their brands of condoms, sanitary napkins, and artificial sweeteners. Britannia, a bakery and biscuit marketer, uses the health platform to improve business results. Many regional and local marketers are stepping up their product messaging - particularly the Ayurvedic products”, says Mr. Rakesh Bhatia.

India's patent laws for pharmaceuticals, which protected only the engineering process, not the product itself had outraged the first world pharmaceutical companies. In turn, they made India a pariah. At last bowing to this pressure, India fully joined the global patent standards last year.

These drugs are now sold at a price 30 to 50 times the price they were sold for before the patent was accepted.  

Mr. Rakesh Bhatia acknowledges that pharma companies have endured some loses and missed business opportunities under the new patent regime. But he argues, saying that, “How do you juxtapose the human right to health with intellectual property?"

Our store also ran into loses last year and we had to give up on some of our best manufacturers simply because their products were too expensive and people were unable to buy them.”

From a purely economic standpoint, however, the change in the patent law has been clearer, and in many ways, more positive. Foreign pharmaceutical firms are entering the market to target India's growing middle class, owing to this patent regime and they are considering outsourcing some research, which could cut costs as much as 60 percent, by some estimates. (Asia Times Online report)

The industry is trying its best to straddle the old and the new. Last month, Ranbaxy and a second Indian pharmaceutical, Cipla, agreed to provide half-price HIV drugs to the foundation of former President Bill Clinton. The Clinton Foundation will distribute the medicines to 100,000 children in 62 countries. The pact is further proof that India is still in many ways the premier drug-provider for the developing world.

A nice air conditioned ambience, a workforce of over 10 people attending to various needs of the customers, Bhatia store remains one of the most visited shops in the area and also an important landmark. The pharma formula for them is ‘Marketing is business and business in marketing.’ With good marketing come good customers who deserve good customer relations. And this is what they have been doing for the last 25 years which makes their store one of the best in the locality.