Roche seeks leadership to fight diabetes in the country
Valor Econômico 09/20/10
In search of the total leadership in a market that generates R$ 400 million (US$ 228.6 million) a year in Brazil, Roche Diabetes Care is expanding its presence in the segment of insulin infusion. The Division of the Swiss group Roche specialized in treating diabetes is currently responsible for 35% of the revenues of the area of diagnosis in the country that last year was of R$ 408 million (US$ 207.1 million). In the same period, the pharmaceutical area of laboratory earned R$ 1.6 billion (US$ 812.2 million) in Brazil.The diabetes care division already operates in two areas of treatment. According to Paulo Barbosa, officer in charge of the area of the group in Brazil, the laboratory is the leader in blood glucose monitoring, in which it withholds nearly 70% of the market, also fought by Abbott, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson. It now seeks the leadership also in the area of insulin infusion. "We currently have 25% of the segment and we will work to achieve the leadership until the end of 2011", says Barbosa. The leadership in infusion, according to the Executive of Roche, is in the hands of the American Medtronic.
To achieve such a goal at a relatively short term, Roche plans to invest R$ 8 million (US$ 4.57 million) in the advertising of a new piece of equipment that gather a glucose meter to the infusion of insulin controlled via Bluetooth, called Accu-Chek Combo. The focus of the investment is the medical class and entities that work with diabetics, in a work Barbosa calls "cultural barrier". "Our final goal is to find an artificial pancreas. We are still far from that, but the Combo allows control of the level of glucose several during several times of the day, with much more comfort. The convenience and comfort we offer is our special feature", says the Executive.