Made-in-India Dolo 650 beat other paracetamol pills to be go-to fever drug during Covid-19

It is onwards and upwards for Dolo 650 sales as India witnesses a third Covid-19 wave, with daily infections crossing 2 lakh

Dolo 650 has been featuring in both your doctor’s prescriptions for fever (hopefully not as a symptom of Covid-19) since the beginning of the pandemic and more recently, your memes on social media.

Manufactured by Bengaluru-based Micro Labs Ltd, Dolo 650 has registered unprecedented sales since January 2020, clocking in over Rs 560 cr in sales, crushing its rivals GSK pharma-manufactured Calpol, Sumo L and nearly 40 other brands in the segment, according to a report.

It is only onwards and upwards for the paracetamol tablet sales as India witnesses a third Covid-19 wave, with daily infections crossing 2 lakh.

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Dolo 650 saw sales worth Rs 28.9 crore in December 2021, up over 60 per cent from the same month last year. The tablets’ highest sales numbers, however, came during April and May 2021, the peak of the second wave. Calpol’s sales in the same month were Rs 28 crore, up 56 per cent year-on-year.

One of the reasons its sales are hitting the roof is that Dolo 650 has become the doctor’s favourite to prescribe. “Dolo 650 is one of the brands of paracetamol, which is a time-tested and common medicine to treat fever. It is no different from other brands like Crocin, Calpol, Pacimol etc. It’s a relatively safe medicine and can be taken by people of all ages and by those suffering from heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes,” Dr Ritesh Gupta with the Fortis C-DOC Hospital for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases in Delhi, told The Print.

Experts quoted in the report said Dolo 650 is on its way to becoming synonymous with paracetamol as Xerox or Bisleri are for their respective products.

As cases rose in the new year, Dolo 650 also ruled social media trends all of last week, being called India’s “favourite snack” during Covid-19 and doctors' answer to multiple diseases.