The Dolo-650 tablet’s maker, Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical business Micro Labs Ltd, is being investigated by the income tax department for possible tax cheating. As part of its investigations, the tax agency is examining the company’s financial documents and declarations, according to authorities.
Dolo-650 is a medication that contains 650 mg of paracetamol, a common analgesic and antipyretic used to treat fever and pain. The drug was commonly used during the Covid-19 epidemic and is administered for lowering temperature and pain.
The second wave’s doctors’ preference for prescribing Dolo-650 and its ease of availability are two factors that have boosted sales.
The most often recommended brands of paracetamol are Crocin and Dolo, according to Bhupendra Kumar, general secretary of the Indian Pharmacist Association. But although Dolo is offered in a 650 mg dosage, Crocin is more easily accessible in a 500 mg version. Many doctors were prescribing Dolo because individuals were experiencing high fevers during the second wave.
Many people have continued to take the brand without a prescription even though it initially began out as a recommended prescription during the second wave.
“If a doctor writes one prescription, it gets shared on WhatsApp and used by ten individuals,” Kumar continued. Dolo became well-known as a result, and people began taking it to treat all fevers and aches and pains.
This, according to Delhi-based medicine distributor Kanav Nangia, was made possible by Dolo-650’s low cost and wide availability.
“Throughout the epidemic, the supply of Crocin wasn’t consistent; there were times when it wasn’t easily accessible. Calpol was the second option, although it was more expensive than Dolo. Dolo gained popularity during the epidemic for this reason, he claimed.
“Dolo first promoted itself as a prescription medication, which, unlike, example, Crocin, was not well-known to the general public, and drove its sales through marketing to physicians. Now that everyone is aware of it, they all buy it, according to a pharma market specialist.
“Dolo only managed to establish its brand, especially among physicians, in the early days of the epidemic and is reaping the rewards,” said Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, head of the Council for Healthcare and Pharma. Do not misunderstand; it is a very efficient and reasonably priced drug.
Sales of all paracetamol brands increased because to the fact that Covid-19 nearly always prescribed it as the safest fever-relieving medication.
Between the second quarters of 2020 and 2021, while India was experiencing the second wave of the epidemic, paracetamol’s overall revenue jumped by 138.42%.
During the same time period, Dolo-650’s revenue climbed by 289.6%, according to information from market research company AIOCD-AWACS.
At the same time, sales of GlaxoSmithKline’s two well-known paracetamol products, Crocin and Calpol, surged by 53% and 158.9%, respectively. According to the report, sales of the Sumo brand, created by Alkem Laboratories, increased by 110.6%.
