Micro Labs Ltd has sold 350 crore Dolo-650 tablets since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and earned revenues of Rs 400 crore in a year
On Wednesday, the Income Tax department conducted searches at the premises of Micro Labs Ltd on charges of tax evasion.
The Bengaluru-based pharma company is the manufacturer of the Dolo-650 tablet, which has become widely used by COVID-19 patients over the last two years.
Officials said the department is looking at financial documents, balance sheets and business distributor networks of the company as part of the searches.
Some other linked locations of the company in other cities and those of its promoters and distributors are also being covered, they said.
Let’s take a closer look at Micro Labs, the Dolo-650 tablet, and how it became a ‘household name’ across the country:
What is Dolo-650?
Dolo-650 is an analgesic (pain killer) and antipyretic (fever-reducing) drug.
It is manufactured 650 milligrams (mg) of paracetamol, which is claimed to be more effective than other brands which sell their product with 500 mg.
How did it become popular?
It was being prescribed by doctors and medical shop owners over the counter to reduce fever and pain, common symptoms of COVID-19.
It’s popularity remains a bit of mystery given that Crocin, Dolo, Calpol are different brand names given by pharma companies that sell the same salt under their copyright, as per Business Today.
Experts say a factor could be, believe or not, its straightforward name compared to its competitors.
Business Today also cited MicroLabs’s strategy of using the medical term preferred by doctors for fever called Fever of Unknown Origin or FUO in brand promotion also played a key role in increasing its trustworthiness.
In 2010, Dolo 650 was awarded as the best-managed brand of the year and recognised as India’s most admired brand, as per the report.
As Bhupendra Kumar, general secretary of the Indian Pharmacist Association, explained to Indian Express, “Crocin and Dolo are the most commonly prescribed brands of paracetamol. However, Crocin is more readily available in a 500 mg formulation whereas Dolo is available in a 650 mg formulation. Since people were getting high fever during the second wave, many doctors were prescribing Dolo.”
Though the brand started out as a preferred prescription during the second wave, many have continued to use it without prescription, as per the report.
Kumar added, “If a doctor writes one prescription, it is circulated on WhatsApp and 10 people use it. That is how Dolo became a household name and people started using it for all fevers, aches and pains.”
Delhi-based drug stockist Kanav Nangia chalked up its appeal to its widespread availability and cost (Rs 30 for a pack of 15).
“The supply of Crocin hasn’t been regular through the pandemic; there were periods when it was not readily available. The other alternative was Calpol, but it costs more than Dolo. This is the reason Dolo became popular during the pandemic,” Nangia told the newspaper.
“Dolo initially marketed itself as a prescription drug, which unlike say Crocin was not commonly known to people, and pushed their sales through marketing to physicians. Now, everyone knows about it and buys it,” a pharma market expert told Indian Express.
How many Dolo-650 tablets have been sold?
As per an article in Forbes, the company has sold 350 crore Dolo-650 tablets since beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and earned revenues of INR 400 crore in a year.
Micro Labs sold about 7.5 crore strips of Dolo-650 annually before the pandemic began, as per research firm IQVIA. A year later, that increased to 9.4 crore strips, before touching 14.5 crore strips, almost double the 2019 figure, by the end of 2021.
“This is something that baffles me also,” Micro Labs MD and chairman Dilip Surana, speaking on the popularity of the tablet, told Forbes.
“Much of it has to do with the quality of our product. We created a policy of having two suppliers for any critical product. And we are very choosy on the ingredients and the source of ingredients. That’s something my father was particular about, and we never compromised on that.”
About Micro labs
As per Business Today, Micro Labs was founded by GC Surana in 1973.
As per the company website, Micro Labs is engaged in the making and marketing pharmaceutical products and APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and has 17 manufacturing units across the country.
Its major pharma products are Dolo-650, Amlong, Lubrex, Diapride, Vildapride, Olmat, Avas, Tripride, Bactoclav, Tenepride-M and Arbitel.
It has an annual turnover of Rs 2700 crore including Rs 920 crore of exports. It has 9,200 employees, as per Business Today.
The brothers Dilip and Anand Surana, who run the company founded by their father, are worth $2.24 billion, according to Forbes.
While PTI has sent queries to the company, an official response is awaited.
With inputs from agencies
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