Mankind Pharma Launches OTT Platform For Healthcare Professionals

Mankind Pharma has entered into Over-The-Top (OTT) segment by announcing the launch of a streaming platform for healthcare professionals named Docflix. This platform will consist of 20 different shows on various subjects including Science simplified, Legend inside the white coat, Stitch in time, Cardio Unflip, Digital for doctors, Medico-legal Cases in India, and Vantage point.

The company was taking steps to deliver engaging scientific content created by doctors in short video formats, it said.

“There are several platforms for doctors to deliver routine content, however, with changing times content delivery formats have become redundant and repetitive. Also, doctors have limited time in our country considering the large gap of doctors to patients ratio,”  Mankind pharma said in a statement.

The reliable and authentic content available on Docflixis likely to help in reducing the cardiovascular mortality rate in the country as Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have now become the leading cause of death in India.

“On the technology side, the team is building an AI-enabled personalised interface to deliver individual experiences on the platform. Technological innovations are aimed to deliver convenience to consume content,” the company said.

The company came into existence in 1986 and in 1991, it was formed into a legal corporation.However, it started working as a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company in 1995.

Planning For Initial Public Offering (IPO)

There have been media reports that leading pharmaceutical Mankind is planning to enter the capital market by the end of 2022. It has hired JM Morgan, Citi, Jefferies, Axis, IIFL and Kotak as investment bankers for a USD 90 Crores to 100 Crores (around INR 7,600 crore) IPO.

According to the reports, its existing investors ChrysCapital will sell about one per cent stake, Capital International will sell another six per cent while the promoter Juneja family will sell three per cent.

The ChrysCapital-backed consortium of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) of Singapore and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investments, owns 10 per cent of Mankind, while Capital International owns another 11 per cent stake in the company.

Acquisition

The company had in February entered into a pact with Dr Reddy‘s Laboratories to acquire two of its firms -one involved in asthma and one in infant care production.

Combihale, a drug used for treating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has a category market size of INR 900 crore which is growing at 14 percent. Daffy, a soap-free moisturising bar for infants operates in a market category which is valued at INR 1,000 crore and is growing at 18 percent.

The company had said that the acquisition of Combihalewill to strengthen Mankind’s presence in the inhalation respiratory market segment.

The company already has a range of pharmaceutical products in Respiratory and Dermatology segments and the acquisition of these brands fits well with Mankind’s strategy to expand its presence in these therapy segments.

Global Asthma Treatment Market Size

According to Market researcher, the global asthma treatment market size stood at USD 18.08 billion (around INR 1.3 LakhCrores)in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 26.01 billion (around INR 2 Lakh Crores) by 2027, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.5 per cent during the forecast period.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during coronavirus pandemic, individuals suffering from moderate to severe asthma were at a greater risk of falling ill with acute respiratory disease.

Research and Development (R&D)

To develop advanced therapeutics for asthma, key market players have been engaged in the strong and robust R&D. Since asthma is a chronic disease that affects a substantial number of patients worldwide including children, a number of prominent pharmaceutical companies are involved in developing drugs for asthma.

In September 2019, Novartis announced positive results from the phase III IRIDIUM study of inhaled combination in patients diagnosed with uncontrolled asthma.

This drug candidate for asthma treatment allows patients to better control their asthma symptoms, which enables a greater improvement in the patients’ lung function.