Ranbaxy products listed on AOK, Germany's largest Health Insurance

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has announced that Basics GmbH (Basics) based in Leverkusen Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company on February 13, 2007, has announced that the Company's products has been selected by 16 Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen (AOK), Germany's largest General Local Health Insurance, for listing. Basics / Ranbaxy is the only Indian Company in the AOK list.

This new agreement, listing specific products, is the first of its kind. The listing applies to 43 molecules or combination drugs in all. The total expenditure volume for these medicines amounts to 1.7 billion Euros p.a. for the AOK nationwide.

AOK has selected up to three Companies (including Basics) for each molecule, whose products will be listed and recommended for AOK patients. The AOK represents approximately 35% of all health insurance policy holders in Germany (more than 25 million insurants). The agreement is valid from January 01, 2007 till December 31, 2007.

The following products of Basics / Ranbaxy are recommended for use by AOK patients:

Amlodipin Basics
Captopril comp Basics
Cefaclor Basics
Cefuroximaxetil Basics
Clarithromycin Basics
Ciprofloxacin Basics
Mirtazapin Basics
Ranitidin Basics
Sertralin Basics
Simvastatin Basics
Terazosin Basics

Commenting on the listing of products, Dr. Heike Stren, Managing Director, Basics, said: "We are pleased to have our products selected and listed by AOK for recommendation to their customers which will enable us to provide affordable medicines to the patients in Germany. It will be our endeavour to further strengthen and continue this mutually beneficial relationship with AOK."

The pharmaceutical expenditure of the compulsory health insurance in Germany rose to 23.7 billion Euros (plus 13%) in 2006. Changes to the pricing and reimbursement system, most recently the introduction of the so called "Arzneimittelwirtschaftlichkeitsgesetz (AVWG)" in May 2006, accelerated the growth of generic consumption. Germany is the largest pharmaceutical market in Europe and the third largest in the world, behind the USA and Japan.

Basics is located in Leverkusen, Germany, and is a 100% subsidiary of the Company located in New Delhi, India. Basics pharmaceuticals are of high quality and free of patient co-payment wherever possible. Basics reduces prices fortnightly and thus ensures, that its products are always among the three best priced ones.

Source : Equity Bulls

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