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To expand its reach and impact all over the country, the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association’s (AKCDA) business venture Kaino Pharm Ltd is exploring the possibility of a co-marketing partnership with AIOCD Pharma Ltd, the drug distribution company of the national trade body, AIOCD.
Launched in 2021, Kaino Pharm Ltd is in the drug marketing field of Kerala with 42 products which are promoted and sold by the shareholders of the company. The company was floated by a group of entrepreneurs within the AKCDA, who are the shareholders of the company. Currently Kaino Pharm has 87 shareholders with investment ranging from two to ten lakhs.
The chairman and managing director of the Kaino Pharm Ltd, AN Mohan, said the AIOCD Pharma Ltd is marketing over 400 branded generics throughout India except Kerala. Once a marketing collaboration with the company is established by Kaino Pharm, both the companies’ products will be promoted together to increase the brand visibility and to reach out to a large number of customers. The retail shops of the members of AKCDA will sell all the products of the AIOCD Pharma Ltd and also their own products, he told Pharmabiz.
To explore the possibility for partnership marketing, both the companies will discuss potential collaboration opportunities in areas wherever they can join together. Presently, drugs for AIOCD Pharma Ltd are manufactured in agreement with contract manufacturers of Baddy in Himachal Pradesh and the same manufacturers are supplying products for Kaino Pharm also. According to AN Mohan, Kaino Pharm will promote the products of the AIOCD Ltd in Kerala, in turn their products will be promoted in other states by the members of the AIOCD Pharma Ltd. In effect, both the entities will market the same products manufactured and supplied by the same manufacturers under various brand names. Kaino Pharm is also marketing branded generics.
“Compared to other brands of major players our products are sold at a discounted rate. When the quantum of sales goes high, the manufactures will reduce the prices which will help us to sell all therapeutic medicines at lower rates. However, this is not on the lines of the discounted pharmacies, but quality branded generic items can be sold to the patients at reasonable prices to reduce their healthcare expenditure’, says AN Mohan.
Responding to this proposal, JS Shinde, chairman of the AIOCD Pharma Ltd in Mumbai, spoke to Pharmabiz that an official deliberation on the matter was not yet held, but it would be a welcome move if Kaino Pharm entered into a strategic business tie-up with AIOCD Pharma Ltd. He said the company has at present over 400 products in the market and they are all representing all segments. Further, the company plans to launch one hundred more products to the market in 2024. All the products are manufactured on third-party manufacturing contracts. He said the leaders of Kaino Pharm will meet him soon to discuss the business prospects of Kerala and the strategic collaboration for co-marketing.
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