Friday 1 February 2013
Thursday 29 December 2011
Dr Reddy's launches pain treatment cream 'Supamove' in India
Dr Reddy's Laboratories today said it has launched 'Supamove' cream used for treating pain and inflammation in India.
The cream helps in reducing pain and inflammation in patients with joint pain, arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and lower back pain, the company said.
"The product has been in-licensed from Cymbiotics Inc. USA and will be available in a 30 gm tube," it added.
The company has also launched another product, Venusia Soft lotion in 75 ml pack, used for providing relief from dry, itchy skin also in-licensed from Cymbiotics Inc.
"This will complete Dr Reddy's treatment basket in the emollient and protective space which already includes Venusia cream, Venusia lotion, Venusia max and Venusia bathing bar," Dr Reddy's said.
The company claimed that current market size of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) segment is over Rs 352 crore and emollients and protectives market in India is currently valued at Rs 208 crore, it added.
The Hyderabad-based firm, which had revenues of USD 1.7 billion in FY 11 is present in three business segments- pharmaceutical services and active ingredients, global generics and proprietary products.
Shares of Dr Reddy's were today trading at Rs 1,573 in the after noon trade on BSE, up 0.45 per cent from its previous close.
The cream helps in reducing pain and inflammation in patients with joint pain, arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and lower back pain, the company said.
"The product has been in-licensed from Cymbiotics Inc. USA and will be available in a 30 gm tube," it added.
The company has also launched another product, Venusia Soft lotion in 75 ml pack, used for providing relief from dry, itchy skin also in-licensed from Cymbiotics Inc.
"This will complete Dr Reddy's treatment basket in the emollient and protective space which already includes Venusia cream, Venusia lotion, Venusia max and Venusia bathing bar," Dr Reddy's said.
The company claimed that current market size of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) segment is over Rs 352 crore and emollients and protectives market in India is currently valued at Rs 208 crore, it added.
The Hyderabad-based firm, which had revenues of USD 1.7 billion in FY 11 is present in three business segments- pharmaceutical services and active ingredients, global generics and proprietary products.
Shares of Dr Reddy's were today trading at Rs 1,573 in the after noon trade on BSE, up 0.45 per cent from its previous close.
Tuesday 27 December 2011
2011: An uncomfortable year for pharmaceutical sector
The pharmaceutical industry will remember 2011 as a year in which the government sought more to exercise more control over the business -- be it big ticket acquisitions of domestic firms by MNCs or price controls on drugs.
Amid these tussles with the government, domestic companies carried on with their business as usual.
While Ranbaxy heaved a sigh of relief after finally reaching an agreement with the US health regulator to remove a ban on the sale of drugs from certain Indian plants in the American market, Sun Pharma sought to consolidate its grip over Israeli firm Taro by proposing a complete takeover.
Furthermore, Lupin acquired I'rom Pharmaceutical Company in Japan as part of a global expansion drive.
Nevertheless, policy was the centre of the action during the year as far as the industry was concerned.
Alarmed over the trend of big Indian pharmaceutical firms being acquired by MNCs, which could have an apparent implication on drug prices, the government decided that it was high time some control mechanism was put in place.
After deliberations and debate with stakeholders, the government introduced checks by doing away with automatic approval of foreign direct investment (FDI) in existing domestic pharmaceutical companies.
According to the new guidelines, for any merger or acquisition, overseas investors will now have to seek permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
After six months of such a proposal being approved, monopoly watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) will vet such deals.
The decision followed a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who, along with his senior Cabinet colleagues, had deliberated over concerns arising out of several acquisitions of domestic pharma firms by overseas firms.
The decision was influenced by acquisitions of Indian firms, including that of Ranbaxy Laboratories by Daiichi Sankyo of Japan, Shanta Biotech by Sanofi Aventis of France and more recently the domestic formulations business of Piramal Healthcare by US-based Abbott Laboratories.
The government feared that a monopoly by MNCs will have an impact on the availability of affordable drugs in India.
However, in the case of greenfield investments, 100 per cent FDI will be allowed under the automatic route, under which investors only inform the Reserve Bank about the inflows and no specific government nod is required.
Amid these tussles with the government, domestic companies carried on with their business as usual.
While Ranbaxy heaved a sigh of relief after finally reaching an agreement with the US health regulator to remove a ban on the sale of drugs from certain Indian plants in the American market, Sun Pharma sought to consolidate its grip over Israeli firm Taro by proposing a complete takeover.
Furthermore, Lupin acquired I'rom Pharmaceutical Company in Japan as part of a global expansion drive.
Nevertheless, policy was the centre of the action during the year as far as the industry was concerned.
Alarmed over the trend of big Indian pharmaceutical firms being acquired by MNCs, which could have an apparent implication on drug prices, the government decided that it was high time some control mechanism was put in place.
After deliberations and debate with stakeholders, the government introduced checks by doing away with automatic approval of foreign direct investment (FDI) in existing domestic pharmaceutical companies.
According to the new guidelines, for any merger or acquisition, overseas investors will now have to seek permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
After six months of such a proposal being approved, monopoly watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) will vet such deals.
The decision followed a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who, along with his senior Cabinet colleagues, had deliberated over concerns arising out of several acquisitions of domestic pharma firms by overseas firms.
The decision was influenced by acquisitions of Indian firms, including that of Ranbaxy Laboratories by Daiichi Sankyo of Japan, Shanta Biotech by Sanofi Aventis of France and more recently the domestic formulations business of Piramal Healthcare by US-based Abbott Laboratories.
The government feared that a monopoly by MNCs will have an impact on the availability of affordable drugs in India.
However, in the case of greenfield investments, 100 per cent FDI will be allowed under the automatic route, under which investors only inform the Reserve Bank about the inflows and no specific government nod is required.
Monday 26 December 2011
Drug pricing policy to cause 1.5k cr loss: IMS
Drug market research firm IMS Health India has said the draft drug pricing policy, which proposes to cap prices of essential medicines, would cause a loss of Rs 1,500 crore to the industry but drug firms can offset the impact if they raise prices of brands currently sold below their proposed ceilings.
Half of the estimated Rs 1,500-crore loss would be borne by top 10 companies alone, but this loss could be nullified, said Amit Backliwal, of IMS Health, whose data the government uses to fix prices of medicines.
The draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy 2011, circulated in October for feedback, plans to cap prices of all 348 essential drugs and their combinations at the average price of the top three brands in the respective segments. Sales of these drugs form three-fifths of the country's 60,000-crore pharmaceutical market.
Half of the estimated Rs 1,500-crore loss would be borne by top 10 companies alone, but this loss could be nullified, said Amit Backliwal, of IMS Health, whose data the government uses to fix prices of medicines.
The draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy 2011, circulated in October for feedback, plans to cap prices of all 348 essential drugs and their combinations at the average price of the top three brands in the respective segments. Sales of these drugs form three-fifths of the country's 60,000-crore pharmaceutical market.
The anti-infectives segment would be the worst affected with a projected loss of 400 crore followed by cardio vascular and gastro intestinal segment at 150 crore each. Among companies, the country's largest drug maker, Ranbaxy Laboratories, could lose the maximum revenue at 100 crore followed by Glaxosmithkline at 75 crore and Alkem 60 crore.
According to All Indian Origin Chemists & Distributors (AIOCD), the loss to the industry, drug makers and traders is estimated at over 4,000 crore. Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which represents the interests of big Indian drug makers, forecast a decline of 3,000 crore in profit before tax.
In the best case scenario, should drug companies use all provisions to increase prices of brands, the industry could actually gain in revenue.
But Backliwal said revenue gain was a "theoretical" possibility since companies could increase prices of drugs outside price control by mere 1% to 2% despite the existing provision of up to 10% in 12 months. "Market forces don't allow that." A senior executive from a leading Indian company also said it was practically impossible to increase prices because of the cutthroat competition in market. "India is the most competitive drug market in the world," he said.
There could be a volume increase in popular brands if their prices are slashed. If cost was limiting the access of such brands with "intrinsic" value, lower price will push volumes up, Backliwal said, pointing to a similar case when the Philippines government slashed prices of several popular brands by 50%.
However, some health activists and regulatory experts have argued that companies would definitely increase prices of their drugs. "Not even one company will eventually lose in this pricing mechanism," C M Gulati, a Delhi-based drug regulatory expert, said. Prices of medicines that are sold for 3 or less per unit (tablet, capsule, ampoule) will not be regulated, leading to many-fold increases in the cost of most medicines, he said.
According to All Indian Origin Chemists & Distributors (AIOCD), the loss to the industry, drug makers and traders is estimated at over 4,000 crore. Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which represents the interests of big Indian drug makers, forecast a decline of 3,000 crore in profit before tax.
In the best case scenario, should drug companies use all provisions to increase prices of brands, the industry could actually gain in revenue.
But Backliwal said revenue gain was a "theoretical" possibility since companies could increase prices of drugs outside price control by mere 1% to 2% despite the existing provision of up to 10% in 12 months. "Market forces don't allow that." A senior executive from a leading Indian company also said it was practically impossible to increase prices because of the cutthroat competition in market. "India is the most competitive drug market in the world," he said.
There could be a volume increase in popular brands if their prices are slashed. If cost was limiting the access of such brands with "intrinsic" value, lower price will push volumes up, Backliwal said, pointing to a similar case when the Philippines government slashed prices of several popular brands by 50%.
However, some health activists and regulatory experts have argued that companies would definitely increase prices of their drugs. "Not even one company will eventually lose in this pricing mechanism," C M Gulati, a Delhi-based drug regulatory expert, said. Prices of medicines that are sold for 3 or less per unit (tablet, capsule, ampoule) will not be regulated, leading to many-fold increases in the cost of most medicines, he said.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Medical electronics mkt to touch Rs 33,800 cr
Indian medical electronics market is set to touch nearly $ 6.4 billion (nearly Rs 33,800 crore) by 2020, growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of up to 19 per cent on the back of rising cases of diseases and healthcare facilities expansion.
Indian medical electronics industry has been growing at an average rate of 17 per cent for past couple of years. It is expected that growth will outperform the pace and industry will touch the $ 6.4 billion mark by 2012, a study by FICCI-Deloitte said.
"There are various factors, which will propel growth of the medical electronics industry which are a combination of macroeconomic factors, industry trends and segment consideration," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd Director Strategy and Operations Anjan Sen told PTI.
Factors like increasing disease burden, expansion of healthcare delivery in Tier II and Tier III towns, increase in non-communicable and lifestyle diseases, rising income levels and demand for better healthcare will drive growth in the short term, he said.
In 2010, the segment had sales of $ 1 billion out of the Indian medical devices market of $ 2.5 billion.
'Medical Electronics' are healthcare products which require external energy source to be operational. The segment includes equipments, diagnostic tools, life support systems, implants and disposables.
"In the longer term shift towards better diagnostics and preventive healthcare coupled with integrated healthcare delivery will drive growth," Sen said.
He said in order to drive growth further in the segment, "the industry has to target both the public and private sectors."
With the Indian government planning to increase the healthcare allocation to 2-3 per cent of the GDP, the report said: "Schemes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) will break the constraint for rural India, offering the economies of the scale to the Industry."
About the prospects of domestic firms in the future growth scenario Sen said: "The market is expected to grow 6.5 times the current size and everything depends on who is able to capture what share of the market."
Indian medical electronics industry has been growing at an average rate of 17 per cent for past couple of years. It is expected that growth will outperform the pace and industry will touch the $ 6.4 billion mark by 2012, a study by FICCI-Deloitte said.
"There are various factors, which will propel growth of the medical electronics industry which are a combination of macroeconomic factors, industry trends and segment consideration," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd Director Strategy and Operations Anjan Sen told PTI.
Factors like increasing disease burden, expansion of healthcare delivery in Tier II and Tier III towns, increase in non-communicable and lifestyle diseases, rising income levels and demand for better healthcare will drive growth in the short term, he said.
In 2010, the segment had sales of $ 1 billion out of the Indian medical devices market of $ 2.5 billion.
'Medical Electronics' are healthcare products which require external energy source to be operational. The segment includes equipments, diagnostic tools, life support systems, implants and disposables.
"In the longer term shift towards better diagnostics and preventive healthcare coupled with integrated healthcare delivery will drive growth," Sen said.
He said in order to drive growth further in the segment, "the industry has to target both the public and private sectors."
With the Indian government planning to increase the healthcare allocation to 2-3 per cent of the GDP, the report said: "Schemes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) will break the constraint for rural India, offering the economies of the scale to the Industry."
About the prospects of domestic firms in the future growth scenario Sen said: "The market is expected to grow 6.5 times the current size and everything depends on who is able to capture what share of the market."
Thursday 22 December 2011
Deadline to affix barcodes on drugs extended till Jan 2013
In a move that will provide relief to drug exporters, the Commerce Ministry today extended the deadline for mandatory barcoding of pharma products meant for overseas markets till January, 2013.
In June, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that from July 2012, medicines exported from India would be required to have barcodes.
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data on the product it is attached to and facilitates its tracking.
"Earlier, the requirement of affixing barcodes on primary level packaging was to come into effect from July 1, 2012. Now more time is being allowed," DGFT said.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry had sought more time to implement the process required for mandatory barcoding as the small-scale pharma firms lack infrastructure.
"We are in constant talks with Commerce Ministry in this regard. The implementation is not feasible for small-scale pharma firms because the cost is very high," Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council Chairman N R Munjal said.
DGFT said the deadline for bar coding on primary packaging -- the material that first envelops the product and is in direct contact with the contents such as ampoule, vial, bottle, cartridge, blisters -- is extended till early 2013.
For secondary packaging -- intermediate medical packing -- it has been extended till July 1, 2012. Earlier, the set time line was January 1, 2012, it said.
DGFT had said exporters will need to affix barcodes entailing unique product identification code, unique serial number of the respective packs, batch number and expiry number.
Munjal said the DGFT itself doesn't have the adequate infrastructure to read barcodes. "Only barcoding will not benefit...The DGFT itself must have the central server system that enables the barcode reader," he added.
According to experts, the move is not only aimed at improving reputation of the Indian pharma industry in the international market but it also aims at curbing illegal channels of trade. For instance, spurious drugs found in Nigeria in 2009 were labelled 'Made in India' but were finally traced to China.
Pharmaceutical companies and exporters have been raising concerns that affixing barcode is "not feasible" and expensive. It cannot resolve the problem of spurious drugs, he added.
In June, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that from July 2012, medicines exported from India would be required to have barcodes.
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data on the product it is attached to and facilitates its tracking.
"Earlier, the requirement of affixing barcodes on primary level packaging was to come into effect from July 1, 2012. Now more time is being allowed," DGFT said.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry had sought more time to implement the process required for mandatory barcoding as the small-scale pharma firms lack infrastructure.
"We are in constant talks with Commerce Ministry in this regard. The implementation is not feasible for small-scale pharma firms because the cost is very high," Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council Chairman N R Munjal said.
DGFT said the deadline for bar coding on primary packaging -- the material that first envelops the product and is in direct contact with the contents such as ampoule, vial, bottle, cartridge, blisters -- is extended till early 2013.
For secondary packaging -- intermediate medical packing -- it has been extended till July 1, 2012. Earlier, the set time line was January 1, 2012, it said.
DGFT had said exporters will need to affix barcodes entailing unique product identification code, unique serial number of the respective packs, batch number and expiry number.
Munjal said the DGFT itself doesn't have the adequate infrastructure to read barcodes. "Only barcoding will not benefit...The DGFT itself must have the central server system that enables the barcode reader," he added.
According to experts, the move is not only aimed at improving reputation of the Indian pharma industry in the international market but it also aims at curbing illegal channels of trade. For instance, spurious drugs found in Nigeria in 2009 were labelled 'Made in India' but were finally traced to China.
Pharmaceutical companies and exporters have been raising concerns that affixing barcode is "not feasible" and expensive. It cannot resolve the problem of spurious drugs, he added.
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Zydus Cadila acquires 100% stake Mumbai based Biochem
Drug firm Zydus Cadila today said it has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Biochem for an undisclosed amount.
"Zydus Cadila has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Biochem, one of the Top 40 pharma companies in India," Zydus Cadila said in a statement.
A privately held firm, Biochem has a presence in various therapeutic segments, including antibiotics, cardiovascular, anti-diabetics and oncology, it added.
Commenting on the development, Zydus Cadila CMD Pankaj R Patel said: "The formulations business in India has always been the bulwark of our operations and we have looked at every strategic opportunity to grow and contribute to this market, either by way of novel initiatives, collaborations or acquisitions."
"Biochem represents the right fit as they have a significant presence in our core therapy areas and also add value to our product offerings in key growth segments," he added.
Biochem reported sales of Rs 264.5 crore for the year 2010-11. The company's top brands include Ampilox, Biotax, Monotax, Amicin and Zithrocin, which together contribute to 40 per cent of the company's sales.
"The acquisition strengthens Zydus' operations in the Indian pharma market," the company added.
"Zydus Cadila has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Biochem, one of the Top 40 pharma companies in India," Zydus Cadila said in a statement.
A privately held firm, Biochem has a presence in various therapeutic segments, including antibiotics, cardiovascular, anti-diabetics and oncology, it added.
Commenting on the development, Zydus Cadila CMD Pankaj R Patel said: "The formulations business in India has always been the bulwark of our operations and we have looked at every strategic opportunity to grow and contribute to this market, either by way of novel initiatives, collaborations or acquisitions."
"Biochem represents the right fit as they have a significant presence in our core therapy areas and also add value to our product offerings in key growth segments," he added.
Biochem reported sales of Rs 264.5 crore for the year 2010-11. The company's top brands include Ampilox, Biotax, Monotax, Amicin and Zithrocin, which together contribute to 40 per cent of the company's sales.
"The acquisition strengthens Zydus' operations in the Indian pharma market," the company added.
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