Pediatric PCD pharma franchise

What makes a pediatric range different?

Children's doses are small and need to be easy to give, so a pediatric range is mostly liquids and kid-strength tablets rather than adult strips. That changes what you stock, how you store it and how you sell it.

• Dosage forms: drops for infants, dry syrups that are mixed with water before use, ready suspensions and syrups, and dispersible tablets.
• Strengths: the same molecule often comes in two or three strengths (for example 50 mg and 100 mg), and pediatricians choose by the child's age and weight.
• Your customers: pediatricians, general physicians who see many children, and the chemists close to their clinics.

Which dosage forms does a pediatric range include?

Product information here is for trade enquiry only. Prescribing is the doctor's decision.

Which therapy groups should the range cover?

A pediatrician writes across several groups every day. A range that covers only one or two of them leaves most of each prescription to other companies. The groups in Acrowell's pediatric range are:

• Antibiotics: cefixime, cefpodoxime, cefuroxime, amoxycillin with clavulanate, azithromycin, linezolid, and ofloxacin combinations.
• Fever and pain: paracetamol in drops and suspensions, and combinations with ibuprofen or mefenamic acid.
• Cough, cold and allergy: paracetamol-phenylephrine-chlorpheniramine syrups and drops, and montelukast with levocetirizine.
• Gut and appetite: ondansetron syrup, and enzyme drops.
• Deworming: albendazole, and albendazole with ivermectin.
• Vitamins and iron: vitamin D3 drops, multivitamin drops, and iron with zinc and folic acid drops.

See all 61 pediatric products with compositions.

How do I plan my first pediatric order?

1. List the pediatricians you can visit every week, and the general physicians who see many children.
2. Note what they write in each group above: which antibiotic, which fever product, which vitamin.
3. Match to the range by composition and strength. Pick the strengths those doctors actually use.
4. Check the chemists next to each clinic. A prescription is only a sale if the chemist next door stocks it.
5. Order small across groups rather than deep in one group, then reorder what moves.

At Acrowell Labs there is no minimum order on in-stock products, so you can take a few packs of each and let real prescriptions decide your second order.

What should I know about storing and handling pediatric stock?

• Liquids are bulky and breakable. Plan rack space, and check cartons on delivery. Report breakage with photos and the docket number.
• Dry syrups often come with WFI. Keep the pair together and check that the water pack is in each carton.
• Store as the label says. Keep stock away from heat and direct sun. If any product needs cold storage, it must go in the fridge.
• Watch expiry. Liquids that move slowly can reach expiry on the shelf. Sell older batches first.

Does demand change with the season?

Yes. In most of India, pediatric clinics get busier with coughs, colds and fevers in the colder months and around the monsoon, and quieter at other times. Partners who plan for this keep a little more stock of the products their doctors write in those months, and order lighter in quieter months. Your own sales from the first season are the best guide for the next one.

Acrowell Labs or Aurexis Biotech for pediatrics?

Both divisions carry pediatric products. Acrowell Labs is the flagship general and pediatric range. Aurexis Biotech is the premium multi-specialty range, with its own pediatric products such as Aurefix-100DT (Cefixime 100 mg dispersible tablet), Cefpodrex-50 (Cefpodoxime 50 mg/5 ml) and Calvexis-D3 Drops (Vitamin D3 400 IU), in premium packaging with room for a good partner margin. Some partners take one division per doctor segment. See Aurexis Biotech.

How do I introduce the range to a pediatrician?

• Lead with what they already write. Show the compositions and strengths that match their current prescriptions, not the whole catalogue.
• Show the pack. Parents and chemists notice the bottle, the dropper and the carton. Carry samples and the visual aid for the products you discuss.
• Confirm the chemist. Tell the doctor which nearby chemist stocks the product, so a prescription never leads to "not available".
• Keep visits regular. One visit rarely changes a habit. Short, regular visits with accurate product information work better than a single long one.
• Stay within the rules. Share product information and samples as the pharma marketing code allows. Never offer gifts or payments for prescriptions.

What should I ask a company about its pediatric range?

1. How many pediatric products do you have, and in which groups and strengths?
2. Which are in stock today, and is there a minimum order on them?
3. Are dry syrups supplied with water for injection in the carton?
4. Who manufactures them, and is the plant WHO-GMP compliant?
5. What promotional material comes with the range: visual aids, literature, samples?
6. What is the rule for breakage of bottles in transit?

At Acrowell, all 61 pediatric products are listed with compositions and packs, dispatch is within 24 hours of a confirmed order, and partners receive visual aids, literature, MR bags and samples. How to check any company before you pay.

A worked example: a pediatric start in one town

Take an example. Pooja starts in Kaithal. She knows six pediatricians and about twenty general physicians who see children. From her visits she notes that her doctors mostly write cefixime and cefpodoxime dry syrups, paracetamol suspension, cough-cold syrups and vitamin D3 drops.

Her first order covers those groups with two strengths each where her doctors use both, plus a few drops for infants. She leaves out products none of her doctors write. In month two, she adds deworming and iron drops because two pediatricians asked for them. By the second season she knows which products to stock up on before the busy months.

What are the common mistakes?

• Taking only antibiotics. Doctors write across groups, so a one-group range sells only part of each prescription.
• Stocking every strength of every product on day one.
• Forgetting the chemist next to the clinic.
• Ignoring breakage on delivery and reporting it too late.
• Letting slow liquids reach expiry on the shelf.

Frequently asked questions