In a sharp mid-course correction, Karan Bilimoria, the NRI beer maker, is in talks for a distribution tie-up in the US with Anheuser-Busch, whose Budweiser lords it over half the beer market in that country. While Cobra managed to hold its own in the SABMiller-dominated South African beer market, it managed only flat results with Krait Prestige, which was marketed as the world's first Champagne Lager.
Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco), the seed partner of multinational agro-biotech major Monsanto Corporation, has moved the Delhi High Court against a Central Information Commission order seeking details of the safety test data generated during clinical trials of its genetically modified (GM) brinjal, the first GM edible crop to be introduced in India.
358 of 413 drug patent applications for the disease in India are from top multinationals. An analysis of pharma patent applications pending with the patent office by the group, which did not wish to be identified, has put the number of cancer drug patent applications at 413. Of these, 358 came from top multinationals like Novartis, Aventis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Boehringer, Roche and Abbot.
Last month, Barun K Gorain, a non-resident Indian with Canadian company Barrick Gold Corporation came to Delhi with a $10-million proposal for suggesting a viable method to recover silver from Barrick's gold mines in Argentina.
Till some months ago, when several doctors led by Naresh Trehan left the hospital, the same area used to resemble a railway station -- such was the rush. It was a regular feature for patients to wait a couple of hours before the appointment with the doctors came through. Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Healthcare which acquired the hospital from Escorts Ltd for Rs 585 crore (Rs 5.85 billion) in 2005, insists this only shows the efficiency of the doctors.
The rankings on the value are set to change. A role reversal is silently taking place in the Indian consumer durable business landscape. LG, which has built a huge reputation and amassed a significant market share on the back of affordable pricing, is consciously promoting higher end products. The Korean company has undertaken a strategic initiative to position itself as a maker of premium consumer electronics.
The tax holiday awarded by the Union Budget to healthcare and IT sectors has been greeted with enthusiasm. Major hospital chains had already announced plans to expand in tier 2 cities. The tax holiday has proved to be an added incentive. India needs 3.1 million new hospital beds in the next 10 years. The tax-holiday benefits are available for all new hospital projects except the ones coming up in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore & Ahmedabad.
Camera makers are getting bullish on Indian markets as the consumer base here is increasing. Major camera brands are banking on retail sales in India. For this, Nikon has tied up with consumer electronics retail chains such as Croma, while Sony India has exclusive retail store network. Samsung has tie-ups with Reliance Digital, Croma, and other multi brand outlets. But all the brands face stiff competition from grey markets that are canabalising the brands' share in retail.
Even as India is fast turning into the diabetes capital of the world, multinational drug companies are busy patenting new-generation diabetes medicines for exclusive marketing rights in the country.
Punjab is opposing Centre's area-based tax exemption policy while the underdeveloped states are lauding it as a "well deserved" package.
NPPA will begin analysing pricing trends of 74 bulk drugs that come under the government-notified price-controlled list every quarter.
With the wine market in India poised for heady growth, liquor companies are ready to uncork their best wines. Currently, the Indian wine market is estimated at 1.2 million cases (one case has 12 bottles of 750 ml each), with imported wines accounting for a mere 200,000 cases.
Deals indicate growing interest of private equity firms in India's pharma and healthcare segments.
The move brings an additional 15 per cent of the retail medicine market worth over Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) under direct price control. All domestic companies, including drug majors like Ranbaxy, Cipla, Lupin and Dr Reddy's, have syrups and tonics in their product portfolio.
With anti-competitive practices of global pharma companies increasingly coming under regulatory scrutiny internationally, Indian public interest groups and the domestic medicine makers complain that India's competitive laws are not equipped to face a similar situation of monopoly in the sales of patent protected medicines in the country.
Over 300 life-saving medicines may become cheaper by at least 25 per cent, if the finance ministry considers a proposal by its chemicals and fertilisers counterpart to provide customs and excise duty waivers on all drugs that are part of the National List of Essential Medicines. The chemicals and fertilisers ministry proposal has been supported by pharma companies, who have also agreed to pass on the benefits of such waivers by slashing retail prices.
Reliance, Lifecell and Cryobank have emerged leaders in the stem cell banking sector.
Bullish on the Indian market, Japanese companies dealing in consumer durables are all set to strengthen their presence in India by targeting niche categories and expanding their reach to tier-2 markets. The Rs 25,000-crore consumer durables market in India is currently dominated by Korean companies -- LG and Samsung.
Drug makers join the chyawanprash bandwagon with sugar-free variants.
Refusing to divulge identity of the companies, sources indicated that three of them are based in Delhi and the remaining are in Maharashtra.
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