Post on 17-Oct-2014
Acknowledgement
I take immense pleasure in presenting my gratitude towards Mr. Umesh Trivedi,
owner of Nulife Pharmaceuticals for giving me an opportunity to work with their
prestigious organisation.
I am greatful and thankful to my guide and mentor Mr. Avinash Salunkhe for his
continuous guidance and advice, without whose support I wouldn't have been able to
complete this project and learn so well. He guided me with the steps and procedures
to conduct the survey and corrected me for my mistakes.
I extend my heart felt thanks to my college director, Dr.Thomas Mathew for his
support and also I would like to thank one of the most important person who guided
me throughout this project, my college guide Prof. Simmi Prasad. I thank her for her
continuous guidance and mentoring regarding the progress and development of my
project.
I thank all those chemists and doctors who gave their valuable time for my survey and
provided me with valuable and correct information.
Lastly I would like to thank my family members and my friends for their support and
valuable suggestions during the course of the project.
Gor Rachit Vijay
Study on antihistamine/ Rachit V Gor Page 1
Table of Contents
Sr. No Content Page No.
1 Executive Summary 3
2 List of Charts 4
3 List of Figures 5
4 Company profile 6
5 Department profile 7
6 Project Introduction 8
7 Need for Study 10
8 Objectives 11
9 Research Methodology 12
10 Data Collection and Research design 13
11 Analysis of Data and Result 17
12 Findings and Interpretation 22
13 Recommendations and Conclusion 24
14 Implementation and Future Scope 28
15 References 29
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Histamines are the natural amines that are produced in the body and their action
causes inflammation, itching and allergic sensations and so antihistamines play an
important role in preventing this allergic actions and give relief. But some
antihistamines show sedation as side effects and so it is required to introduce a
product in the market with lesser side effects and better results. Also, the market for
antihistamine is too large, with 3generations of drugs in the market and number of
brands, it is very important to study the trend in the market and to create a unique and
different brand in the market.
Thus, it is vey important to understand the drug in detail along with its market share
and the preferability of particular drug in different medical indications. So, project
focuses on collecting secondary data regarding the side effects, indications and the
mechanism of actions of different antihistaminic drugs in the market. Also, the brands
that are available in the Mumbai market and sold largely are studied via secondary as
well as primary research.
The reasons were identified for a particular existing brand to be sold in the market
more than other brands by primary research of doctors and chemists in the Mumbai
region. Suggestions and recommendations were provided for the improvement in the
existing brand and suggestions were provided for the launch of a new brand in the
market.
Thus the main aim of the project was to study the drug and give suggestions for the
introduction of a new brand of antihistamine in the market.
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List of Charts:
Sr no. Content Pg no
1 Chemist survey Reasons 17
2 Chemist survey Drug Cetrizine 17
3 Chemist Survey Drug Levocetrizine 18
4 Chemist Survey Drug Fexofenadine 18
5 Chemist survey Drug Ketotifen 18
6 Doctor’s survey Reasons 19
7 Doctor’s Survey Indications 19
8 Doctor’s survey Drug Cetrizine 20
9 Doctor’s survey Drug Levocetrizine 20
10 Doctor’s survey Drug Fexofenadine 21
11 Doctor’s Survey Drug Ketotifen 21
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List of Figures:
Sr No. Content Pg No.
1 Antihistamine reaction: an overview 9
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Company Profile:
Nulife Pharmaceuticals Ltd:
As said that service to mankind is service to God. Having this phenomenon in mind
and with an intention to help people fight with the various diseases, Mr. Jayantilal
Trivedi established "Nulife pharmaceuticals" in 1973.
The company's Vision is
Emerge as quality producer, visible, competitive and committed member of
global healthcare industry.
Be seen and felt as ethical organization
Organization devoted and committed to customer service, customer
satisfaction and social responsibility.
Emerge as one of the benchmarked companies in healthcare industry.
Nulife's three tier quality management system assures consistent quality products and
has been proud winner of Rajiv Gandhi Quality Excellence Award for three
consecutive years.
At present Nulife has product line focusing on
Dermatology
E.N.T
Ophthalmology
Pediatrics
It also has ayurvedic preparation using the natural products that could help to heal the
ailments of the people.
Expansion is the need of the hour and so is Nulife pharmaceutical taking various
major steps to increase its product line.
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Department: Marketing Dept.
Under the Guidance of Mr. Umesh Trivedi, The owner and son of Late. J. A. Trivedi,
the management of Nulife is taking the company on the path of progress. Marketing
department of the company plays a major role in the overall development and
extension of the product line and introducing new products in the market. PMT group
of company is enthusiastic and creative finding new ways and methods of marketing
the product. The new strategies planned for the betterment of the sales of the products,
the designing of the products and the promotional strategies are worked on for the
development of the company.
Under the guidance of Mr. Avinash Salunkhe the company is on the path of progress
with zeal and hard work.
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INTRODUCTION:
A histamine antagonist, commonly referred to as antihistamine, is a pharmaceutical
drug that inhibits action of histamine by blocking it from attaching to histamine
receptors. Thus, there are blockers for each histamine receptors. H1 antihistamines are
used to treat symptoms of allergy, such as runny nose and watery eyes.
Classification:
Antihistamines / Histamine antagonists
H1 antagonists H2 antagonists H3 antagonists H4antagonists
1st 2nd 3rdGenera Genera Generation tion tion
H1 Antagonist:
In common use, the term antihistamine refers only to H1 antagonists, also known as
H1 antihistamines. It has been discovered that these H1-antihistamines are
actually inverse agonists at the histamine H1-receptor, rather than antagonists that
means they bind to the receptors similar to histamine and show inverse actions.
Clinically, H1 antagonists are used to treat allergic reactions. Sedation is a common
side effect, and some H1 antagonists, such as diphenhydramine and doxylamine, are
also used to treat insomnia. However, second generations antihistamines do not cross
the blood brain barrier, and as such do not cause drowsiness.
Mechanism:
When a person with allergic infection breathes in an allergen such as pollen or dust,
the body releases chemicals, including histamine. Allergens are the elements that a
Study on antihistamine/ Rachit V Gor Page 8
person is allergic to. This causes allergy symptoms such as itching, swelling, and
mucus production.
In other words, when an allergen enters the body, antibody IgE that is attached to the
mast cells in the body releases histamine from the mast cells into the human body.
Histamine acts as inflammatory mediator and causes inflammation or we say
swelling, itching sensation.
As seen in the figure the release of histamine and other chemicals cause allergic
reactions and thus, by blocking the histamine receptors antihistamines heal the
allergic reactions.
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Need For Study:
H1 antihistamines are used to treat symptoms of allergy, such as runny nose and
watery eyes. Allergies are caused by a body's excessive type I
hypersensitivity response to allergens, such as pollen.
Thus, antihistamines are the drugs that prevent from allergic reactions, can be used for
itching and swelling or inflammatory reactions in the body. But the H1 antagonists
used for allergic reactions have a common side effect of drowsiness and sedation. So,
introduction of new generation of drugs that have lesser sedation is the need of the
people and we need to study the new generation antihistamine that can be used to treat
allergy with lesser sedation. The market for H1 antihistamine is too large, with
3generations of drugs in the market and number of brands, it is very important to
study the trend in the market and to create a unique and different brand in the market.
Without proper study it is not possible to introduce a brand in the market as there are
many competitors for the brand. As most of the antihistamines are non prescription
and generic products, they have a huge market with many competitors, so it is very
important to study the market trend and the users of the product. Even though the end
users the customers or patients the mediators that means the doctors and the chemists
play a major role. So, it is very important to study the psychology of these mediators,
what is their requirement from a brand.
Mumbai, being a huge market with many people and many doctors, it is very much
required to study the trend that could help to introduce the new product and study the
product in detail. So there is need for the study of these antihistamines in Mumbai
region which has a large market segment.
Hence, there is a need to conduct a market survey on the antihistaminic Drugs in the
Mumbai market. Hence, the project was conducted.
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Objectives:
To understand the concept of Antihistaminic drugs and its mechanism of
action in the body.
To conduct a survey about the various generic and branded products of
antihistamines available in the market.
To conduct a survey regarding the drugs or the brands those are preferred by
the chemists in the Mumbai region.
To conduct a survey to study the brands of the antihistamine drugs those are
preferred by the doctors in the Mumbai region.
To study the reason why a particular brand is preferred
To collect ideas and suggestions that could help to improve the market of
antihistamine drugs.
To provide recommendations and suggestions for the introduction of new
product in the market.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH TYPE
EXPLORATORY
DESCRIPTIVE
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
The primary objective of exploratory is to provide insight into and understanding of, the problem confronting the researcher.
Thus the exploratory research helped to identify the need to introduce a
new anti histamine drug in the market.
Thus, secondary helps to explore the conditions and to come out or
identify the problem.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
It helps to understand the problem in detail.
It gives the description of the problem and also the decription about
characteristics of the drug molecule.
Primary and secondary data is collected to describe the problem clearly and to
get proper results for the problem.
Thus descriptive type of research study is carried out
Thus, the combination of both, exploratory and descriptive research design helps to
identify the problem and find solution for the same.
Data Collection and Research Design:
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Initially as per the objectives it was required to understand the concept of
antihistamines, so a secondary research was conducted and data was collected from
books and from the internet regarding the various antihistaminic molecules
discovered, their mode of action, etc. Also, the various side effects were studied and
the various pharmacological indications were studied.
Once I got acquainted with in general antihistaminic drugs, a short survey of
10chemists was carried out to understand which all are the brands that are available
for antihistamines in the market. This gave an idea about how vast is the product line
of antihistaminic drugs that are available in the market. It also gave an idea about the
packaging of the drug and also about the pricing of the brands that is available in the
market. This information was very valuable as it helped a lot in devising the
recommendations and suggestions.
Now as the basic knowledge was acquired about the antihistamine, now was the time
to understand the actual market. So, a survey was conducted of 65chemists in the
Mumbai region and information regarding the why a particular drug is preferred was
studied. Also, suggestions regarding the betterment in case of services or product, if
required were collected. The questionnaire was prepared and it is as follows;
Name of the Chemist/Medical Store:________________________________
Which is Top moving Antihistaminic Brands for each Drug?
Rate the Brand names from 1 to 4. '1' being the most sold, followed by '2' preferred
lesser compared to 1, followed by '3', and lastly '4' for least sold among the four.
Please mention the name of any other brand preferred in the market.
1. Cetrizine:
Alerid ( ) Cetariv ( ) Cetzine ( ) Cetrizet( )
If any other brand, please mention_________________________________
2. Levocetrizine
Levocet ( ) Levorid ( ) Ekon Xl( ) Glencet( )
If any other brand, please mention__________________________________
3. Fexofenadine:
Allegra ( ) Fexigra ( ) Allegix( ) Altiva ( )
If any other brand, please mention__________________________________
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4. Ketotifen
Ketasma ( ) Asthafen ( ) Tritofen ( ) Zerosma ( )
If any other drug brand which is fast moving?
DRUG BRAND
_____________________ _________________________
_____________________ __________________________
_____________________ __________________________
Why do you prefer this Brand of drugs?
Doctor's prescribe it more
Chemist's offer/ Bonus offer
Better company service/ M. R visit
Other
If Other, What is the reason?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Please give some suggestions regarding the packaging/ Presentation of these
brands of antihistaminic Drugs to improve the brand value of that brand?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Thus, primary research design was used to collect the information from the chemists
and then it was reported appropriately.
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As doctors play an important and vital role in the sale of any drug, it was very much
important to consider and understand the psychology of the doctors regarding the
antihistaminic drugs, Hence, a survey of 50doctors was conducted in the Mumbai
region regarding the antihistaminic drugs. Their views for a particular brand the
reason for its preference were studied. Also, in what indications are these drugs
prescribed was studied. Suggestions regarding improvement in the brand value of the
products, if any required was studied.
The questionnaire for the doctor's survey is a s follows;
Name of the Doctor : _________________________________________
Which is Top moving Antihistaminic Brands for each Drug?
Rate the Brand names from 1 to 4. '1' being the most prescribed/ dispensed, followed
by '2' preferred lesser compared to 1, followed by '3', and lastly '4' for least prescribed
among the four.
1. Cetrizine:
Alerid ( ) Cetariv ( ) Cetzine ( ) Cetrizet ( )
If any other brand, please mention___________________________________
2. Levocetrizine
Levocet ( ) Levorid ( ) Ekon XL ( ) Glencet ( )
If any other brand, please mention___________________________________
3. Fexofenadine:
Allegra ( ) Fexigra ( ) Allegix( ) Altiva ( )
If any other brand, please mention___________________________________
4. Ketotifen
Ketasma ( ) Asthafen ( ) Tritofen ( ) Zerosma ( )
If any other brand, please mention___________________________________
In what indication do you prefer Antihistaminic medicine?
_____________________________________________________________________
If any other brand of Antihistamine which is most prescribed?
DRUG BRAND
_____________________ _________________________
_____________________ __________________________
Why do you prefer this Brand of antihistamine medicine?
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M. R. Visit
Lesser Side Effects
Patient Psychology
Cost Effective
If Other, What is the reason?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please give suggestions, if any, regarding the packaging/ presentation of these brands of antihistaminic medicines to improve the brand value of that brand?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Analysis of Data and Results:
The data collected through the chemists survey was compiled and represented in the
form of pie charts and it is represented as follows;
The reason why a particular brand is preferred is represented as,
33%
15%23%
6%
23%
Percentage
Doctor's prescription
Chemist's offer/ Bonus Offer
Better Company Service/ MR visit
Good Result
Doctor's prescription and Offer
The following charts show the preference of particular brand of Drug,
Study on antihistamine/ Rachit V Gor Page 17
0.5
3
5
0.51
Preference ofCetrizine
Cetariv Alerid
Cetzine Cetrizet
Other
8
1
1
Preference OfLevocetrizine
Levocet Levorid
Ekon XI Glencet
Other
0.5
8
0.20.3
1
Preference ofFexofenadine
Fexigra Allegra
Allegix Altiva
Other
7
1.5
1.5
Preference of Ketotifen
Ketasma Asthafen
Tritofen Zerosma
Other
Thus, the charts shown above give a brief idea about the preferences of the brands on
a 10 point scale as they are preferred by the chemists in the Mumbai region.
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Now, the results shown from the Doctor’s survey are represented as follows,
The following chart represents the reasons why a particular brand is prescribed more
by the doctors, which is drawn from the doctor’s survey that was conducted;
19%
38%7%
3%
33%
Percentage
M R VisitLesser Side effect and better resultPatient PsychologyCost effectiveM R visit and effectiveness
The following chart gives an idea as to in what Indications mostly the antihistaminic
drugs are prescribed by the doctors;
70%
5%
15%10%
Indication
All Allergies
Bronchial Asthma
Allergic Rhinitis
Eye Allergies
Thus, the above chart tells us in detail about the diseases that can be diagnosed by the
use of the antihistamines in the market.
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Now, the following charts show the preference of the brands prescribed by the doctors
for a particular drug molecule;
0.5
3
5.5
0.6000000000000010.4
Preference ofCetrizine
Cetariv
Alerid
Cetzine
Cetrizet
Other
7
1
0.5
1.5
Preference OfLevocetrizine
Levocet Levorid
Ekon XI Glencet
Other
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1
8
0.5 0.5
Preference ofFexofenadine
Fexigra Allegra
Allegix Altiva
Other
7
0.2
1.5
1.3
Preference of Ketotifen
Ketasma Asthafen
Tritofen Zerosma
Other
Thus, the above charts display the preference of the doctors for the antihistaminic
brands on a 10 point scale. Thus, this information helps to understand the market
trend and combining the results and analyzing it properly we understand how can an
antihistaminic brand create an image in the market.
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Findings and Interpretations:
Thus, it can be seen from the graphs that the main reason for doctor’s
prescribing particular brand of medicines is better result with lesser side
effects. Also, M.R visit plays a very important role in the doctors getting
acquantained with the drug and prescribing them.
Also, cost effectiveness is one of the reasons for prescribing a particular
brand. Patient psychology as to they get used to a particular brand plays
an important role.
So, this proves that services provided by the company should be
accompanied with the results shown by a particular brand of drug to
improve the brand value and create a strong and lasting image in the
minds of the doctors. So, to introduce a new brand in the market, we need
to promote it and create an image in the minds of the doctors so that they
can prescribe the drug. Also, in case of generic drugs the general
practitioners dispense those to the patients.
Now, in case of the chemist’s survey, it was seen that doctor’s
prescription played a very important role in the sale of antihistamines in
the market. Also, company services and the chemist offers play vital roles
in the sale of the drug. As seen that there are more antihistaminic drugs in
the non- prescription category as compared to those in the prescription
medicines category. So, the offers provided to the chemists and also the
services that the company provides to the chemist play a vital role in the
sale of such brands of drugs. Also, in case of some chemists better results
shown in the past for few patients are being considered as a reason for
dispensing medications to such patients. Like in one case a patient felt
better with cetzine, while other with alerid, even though both being
brands of cetrizine antihistaminic drugs.
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Thus, it proves the very important role of the chemists in the sale of the
antihistamines.
Thus, it can be interpreted from the survey and the analysis that is carried
out on the results obtained from the survey that the market for
antihistamines is very huge with around 15- 20 H1 antihistaminic drugs
each having many different brands, and so sustain in such a market it is
very important to be competitive and to show the uniqueness of our
brand. Thus, the survey has helped to gather various points or may say
various areas where we are required to work on to be competitive and
emerge as a brand in the market.
Thus, we came to the suggestions and recommendations based on the
survey result.
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Recommendations and Conclusions:
As observed in the survey there are many generic and branded products of cetrizine as
a drug, also levocetrizine has levocet as major brand, while in fexofendine Allegra is
the world famous brand.
So we need to introduce a new brand we can introduce in case of drug Levocetrizine
with better effects in blister packaging as it is comparatively cheaper source of
packaging. It can also be dispensed in bottles but the quantity should be more like
50tablets a bottle. The price should be fixed accordingly. The price should be near Rs.
20 as Glencet of Glenmark is sold at Rs.18.50. We would have a competitive edge in
case of this drug.
Also, Ketotifen which is used in eye allergies and marketed by novartis as Zaditor can
be introduced in the market as eye lotion, used in itching of eyes in the form of small
bottles. It must be available with a dispenser and so it must be priced in between Rs.
30 to Rs.50 based on the cost of production and marketing.
Also, azelastine which is used in the form of nasal spray for nasal allergies, we can
introduce cheaper but better quality of product in this drug category. We can price it
around Rs. 100 as we can see Sun pharma sells it at a price of Rs. 120.
Thus, new brands can be introduced in market in this particular drug category of
second as well as third generation of H1 antihistaminic as they show lesser sedation
and better effects. So levoctrizine, terfenadine, ketotifen are the drugs that should be
focused to introduce a new brand in the market.
Blister packaging is the most preferred for tablets and capsules as they are cheaper
and also none of the drug is light resistant so the efficiency won't be reduced.
Generic drugs can be dispensed in the package of 500 tablets or say 1000 tablets that
decreases the cost and which is preferred by the general practitioners in private as
well as government hospitals and dispensaries.
As, said "Economies of Scale", the more being produced the lesser be the cost of
production, so bulk packaging will help to sell the products at cheaper rate.
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Also, combinations of drugs are required to be used that could overcome the side
effects that are produced by a particular group of antihistaminic drug.
The chemists should be provided with better company services so that they can sell
more of the generic products and the doctors to be offered better services so that they
can prescribe the particular brand and take more of bulk packing.
Thus, on the basis of the survey and the various results obtained 2 new products along
with the pricing, packaging was suggested to the company the two drugs being
Levocetrizine and ketotifen.
Drug: Levocetrizine:
Brand Name: NuLcet,
Slogan: Allergies and watery eyes and nose get nil as the null set (empty set)
Packaging: 5 mg tablets in blister packaging/ strip packing of,
10tablets - Rs. 14.00
20tablets - Rs. 21.00
Bulk packaging for 500tablets - Rs. 200.00
Bulk packaging for 1000tablets- Rs. 350.00
In the form of 30ml syrup- Rs. 20.00
Capsules 10tablets- Rs. 30.00
Promotion strategy:
We need to adopt push strategy as we need to push the brand in the market by mass
marketing. We need to meet general practitioners and provide them with bulk
packages of the brand.
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We explain them the importance of being cheaper then the other brands and the only
available in the form of bulk packaging. Also do we provide them with incentives that
would motivate them to sell.
We can conduct health check in collaboration with a dispensary or a general
practitioner and thus promoting our brand in the market as antiallergic.
We need to also focus on chemists and provide them some offers that could instigate
them to keep and sell the brand initially.
Brand is required to be positioned in the minds of doctors and chemists as cheaper
brand that empties allergies and systems of cold from the body.
LOGO : Nulcet
Uses: Allergies, Running nose and eyes, itching skin
Thus, these are the suggestions provide to the company for the introduction of the
new brand named Nulcet that contains levocetrizine, which is a potent antihistaminic
drug that show broad aspect of growth in future.
The second drug that is recommended is ketotifen and the various issues or the
parameters that are studied for the drug are as follows,
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DRUG: Ketotifen
Brand Name: Nukfen
Slogan: Soothing for eyes, harsh for allergies
That’s Nukfen potent antiallergic
Packaging: 10ml bottle- Rs.40
Marketing and Promotional strategies to be adopted:
The medicine is required to be introduced in the market with intensive and aggressive
marketing strategy, with gifts for the doctors motivating them to introduce in the
market.
Also, schemes should be provided to the chemist. ENT doctors can be focused on to
promote the brand, along with allowing them to undertake check ups where the brand
can be promoted.
Brand Logo: Nukfen
Implementation and Future Scope:
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Considering the vast market of antihistamine and the margin or the area it provides to
expand, introducing a new brand in the market is required to be implemented in the
company policy.
So, considering the suggestions provided by the doctors and the chemists the new
brand could be a potential competitor in this competitive market of antihistaminic
drugs.
Thus, with around 15-20 drug molecules and many brands of this drugs,
antihistamines have a very good scope of enhancing in the market.
References:
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Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry by Block John, Beale John.
Clinical Pharmacology by Tripathi K.D.
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
Pharmacology by Satyanarayan
Web MD.com
Survey of 10 chemists
Survey of 65 chemists from Dahisar To Andheri
Survey of 502 doctors from Dahisar to Goregaon
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