The Year of India in Russia - as 2009 is officially known - has helped India Inc get into a long bear hug with the Russian consumer. They are lapping up everything - from Ratan Tata's marquee cars to Vijay Mallya's whisky.
Baba Ramdev and the Tata Group are poles apart in their area of operations, but they have one thing in common: both have been quick to spot the money-spinning potential of Ayurveda's healing touch.
Biocon was scouting for more strategic alliances and exploring opportunities for outlicensing its biotech drugs under development, as it pitches for a slot among the top three bio-pharmaceutical players across the globe, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director.
If the spiritual guru's Patantjali Yog Peeth Trust has set up one of the world's largest centres for Ayurveda in Hardwar with facilities for treatment, research and a university, the Tatas aren't far behind. India's largest conglomerate has tied up with an NGO, the Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, to set up the Indian Institute of Ayurveda Integrated Medicine at Yelahanka near Bengaluru.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories has succeeded in developing a copycat or generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's largest selling drug which has sales of over $10 billion.
The OTC major plans to pump in millions of dollars into Vedants' manufacturing facility coming up by 2011 at Ambernath near Mumbai. Perrigo will then move production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs or the key therapeutic substance in a drug) from its sites in Germany and Israel to India.
Nandini Piramal, heir apparent to the Piramal business empire as the elder child of Ajay Piramal and Swati Piramal, became the executive director of Piramal Healthcare in April this year. A 29-year-old graduate from Hertford College of Oxford University, with an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, she joined the firm in 2006 as a General Manager and has been closely associated with the company's overseas subsidiaries in the US and Canada.
India's ambitious plans to generate an additional 180,000 Mw of power in the next seven years will face hurdles if Indonesia, the second largest supplier of thermal coal, goes ahead with plans to cap coal exports to serve domestic demand.
Indian drug companies have cornered an overwhelming majority of drug approvals under the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Teva Women's Health filed a suit this week in the US District Court for New Jersey, claiming that Lupin had filed an abbreviated new drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration, which infringes the patents of Seasonale, its oral contraceptive that limits the number of menstrual periods women have in a year.
Nova's new owner has decided not to pursue this project.
A German bankruptcy court has sold off Reliance Industries' polyester making subsidiary Trevira GmbH to two local entrepreneurs for an undisclosed amount.
Pricing worries remain, but bankers expect IPOs to raise over Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) in the next few months.
Domestic drug major Cipla Ltd has signed a long-term collaboration agreement with Swiss specialty pharmaceutical major Meda, to develop and market an anti-allergic rhinitis drug for various global markets. Cipla will manufacture the drug, which will treat an ailment that causes a runny nose, and the Swiss company will market the product in Europe, Japan, Brazil, South Korea and Australia. The partners are developing the product as a nasal spray to treat allergic rhinitis.
PLSL's lead molecule under development for cancer treatment has completed two Phase-I studies.
JSW Energy aims to generate 11,390 Mw in the country by 2015. The company has tied up with two consortiums of lenders, led by IDBI Bank and State Bank of India, respectively, for the loans. It had recently filed a draft red-herring prospectus for a Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) public offering with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Mumbai-based Ajanta Pharma has tied up with the Canadian vaccine maker, Medicago Inc, to commercialise Medicago's pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines in India and other territories.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc's anti-migraine drug brand, Imitrex, is turning out to be a good revenue earner for Indian generic companies.
Sources said the company had already secured the required funds for payments due during the current year and might wait for higher valuations for assets that were on the block. Under the CDR, Wockhardt has to divest its non-core assets at an estimated value of Rs 790 crore (Rs 7.9 billion), but the company has been given six years to complete the transaction.
With entrepreneurs like Maganti drawing up aggressive plans, India has added 10,000 to 15,000 beds every year over the past five years.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances