Fierce battle heating up between MNC GSK's Crocin and desi Dolo-650

Even as the dreaded disease of Covid-19 is spiraling the demand for paracetamol through the roof, an interesting, but fierce battle is going on between the major brands of paracetamol in the country. For the first time ever, a home grown paracetamol brand Dolo-650, manufactured by Bengaluru-based Micro Labs Ltd, has unseated the household names like Crocin and Calpol, which are manufactured by UK-based GSK Pharmaceuticals.

From early 2020, ever since the coronavirus started spreading its tentacles further and further in every nook and corner of the world without any discrimination of rich or poor, the demand for paracetamol, as the first line of treatment for the Covid-19, has been hitting the roof as the people have been stockpiling this drug as a precautionary measure. As the country has been witnessing the surge of coronavius with each passing month in the years 2020 and 2021, more and more people suffered from fever, cough, cold, headache, body pain and throat infection. And for all these symptoms, people have been looking to paracetamol as a first resort. As a result, the cash registers of the manufacturers of the paracetamol have been ringing continuously. And in the fierce battle for occupying the dominant place, the desi brand Dolo-650 outsold the GSK's household name Crocin and Calpol.

According to the data available with a human data science and advanced analytics firm in healthcare, IQVIA, the home grown Dolo 650 is now the country's most favoured paracetamol brand, with sales of Rs 567 crore since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in March 2020. Data shows that Dolo, Crocin and Calpol are the key brands that have been driving the paracetamol segment in the country ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 in March 2020.

More recently, in December 2021, Dolo 650 reported a sale of Rs28.9 crore, an impressive performance of 61.45 per cent increase from the same month of previous year. But that is not the desi Dolo's highest performance. In fact, its highest sales were reported in the months of April and May 2021, at the peak of the second wave of Covid-19, when it registered sales of Rs48.9 crore and Rs44.2 crore respectively.

However, Calpol was the most sold paracetamol brand at the peak of the second wave, with Rs 71.6 crore in sales in April 2021. In December 2021, sales of Calpol, which is the second most sold paracetamol brand in December 2021, stood at Rs 28 crore, up 56 per cent from December 2020.

In all, there are 37 brands of paracetamol that are top-sellers in different regions of India. Other popular brands of paracetamol include Fepanil, P-250, Pacimol and Crocin and each of these brands has regional dominance and is widely prescribed by doctors.

Meanwhile, experts in the field are not surprised over the emergence of Dolo-650 as a dominant player in the paracetamol segment as it can be given to people of all ages and has minimal side effects.

Dolo-650 just a normal paracetamol and it is no different from other brands like Crocin, Calpol, Pacimol, etc. It is one of the brands of paracetamol, which is a time-tested and common medicine to treat fever experts opine and add that it is a relatively safe medicine and can be taken by people of all ages and by those suffering from heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. So doctors prefer this drug to treat aches, pains, and fevers.

While the country is looking aghast at the emergence of the third wave of Covid-19, Dolo-650 is gradually but surely becoming a household name.