Merck India today said it would launch 25-50 products this calendar year compared with the 12 launched in 2008.

"We will be launching 25-50 products this calendar year," Merck India Managing Director Marek Dziki told reporters during the launch of its first product here.

About 10 products would be over-the-counter and the rest would be prescription drugs, he said. The company has a product portfolio of 100 drugs.

The company expects to grow at 30 per cent this calendar year, while, in 2010, it aims to grow by more than 30 per cent, Dziki said. Last year, it grew by 24 per cent.

The company has upped the headcount of its field-force by 1,000 in 2008, he added.

The consumer health division of Merck, today launched Femibion, a drug targeting urban women suffering from iron deficiency.

According to estimates, the market size of drugs for iron deficiency is around Rs 700 crore per annum and was growing rapidly, he said.

Over-the-counter drugs in India are growing at 10 per cent per annum, while in Western countries it is growing at 25 per cent per annum, Dziki said.

In the next few years, over-the-counter drugs would grow faster in India than in the Western countries, he said.

"We want to leverage the OTC market opportunities in India," he added.

The company has a manufacturing facility in Goa and has assigned contract manufacturing rights to 18 other manufacturers in India.

Merck India is a subsidiary of Merck Germany.

SOURCE: Merck India