In a continuing trend for the previous two quarters, foreign currency fluctuations and mark-to- market losses are affecting profits of India's drug makers, despite increase in net sales ranging between 4.5 and 42 per cent for most of the firms during the three-month period.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest nearly $4.4 billion (Rs 36,000 crore) in India by 2030 and support more than 48,000 jobs externally through a new regional service launched on Tuesday, said the on-demand Cloud computing company. AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) is the company's second infrastructure region in India, six years after it opened its first Cloud region in Mumbai in 2016. The Hyderabad region will give customers access to AWS technologies for data analytics, security, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
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.
The government is hopeful of a speedy launch of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India and all stakeholders, including the Russian manufacturer and its Indian partners, have been directed to fast-track the application and regulatory approval procedures for the jab to boost the country's vaccination drive, sources said.
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Pharmaceutical major Matrix Laboratories, public sector oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Ranbaxy Laboratories have emerged as the fastest, biggest and the most consistent wealth creators for year 2006
Sales growth of generics drugs has dropped to 3.6 per cent in the 12 months ended September 2008 compared with 11.4 per cent growth a year earlier, according to the latest report of IMS Health, the leading provider of market intelligence to the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. However, sales by volume increased by 5.4 per cent in the US, reflecting declining prices and fewer blockbusters losing patent protection in 2008.
Karmayog, a leading NGO which recently carried out a CSR rating of top 500 Indian companies, says that only two drug companies - Dr Reddy's and Lupin - have done work on this front. While the two firms scored three out of five, 30 other drug firms failed to perform satisfactorily. Nine of the companies, including leading ones such as Nicholas Piramal, Panacea and Glenmark did not score at all.
Companies asked to give data for three batches instead of one; move may lead to significant rise in development cost of generics
The Indian pharmaceutical companies are involved in patent litigations of a mere 40 drugs, out of the 135 known patent litigation drugs in the US. This is despite the claims by major Indian players such as Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's at having secured over 20 first to file status abbreviated new drug applications with the US Food and Drug Administration.
Generic drug sales in the US, that power the business of such leading Indian drug manufacturers as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Lupin and Zydus Cadila, will face competition soon, as big US wholesalers decide to outsource their requirements from upcoming Indian manufacturers.
The R&D plan, focused on diseases affecting poor nations, is expected to be ready by 2008 and may benefit Indian drug firms and contract research organisations in a big way.
Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.
Only half India's population has received the first shot of Covishield and Covaxin and the government's immediate task is to first vaccinate its adult population before placing its focus on children.
The company has entered into a tie-up with the US-based FSC Laboratories as its authorised generic partner for FSC's hypertension medicine Isoptin SR (Verapamil SR) in the US.
The government should take measures to promote innovation and R&D while simplifying regulations for the sector in the upcoming Union Budget, as per pharmaceutical industry bodies. Outlining the wish list for the sector in the upcoming Union Budget, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) secretary general Sudarshan Jain said the domestic pharma industry is currently around $50 billion in size and aspires to grow to around $130 billion by 2030 and $450 billion by 2047. "To achieve this vision, the Union Budget 2023-2024 should help fuel innovation and R&D, which will set the pace for propelling the pharmaceutical industry forward," he told PTI.
Incumbent DMK MP T Sumathy alias Tamizhachi Thangapandian will face-off former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, while the the AIADMK has fielded ex-MP Dr J Jayavardhan, who won from here in 2014.
This import duty exemption would remain in force till October 31 this year.
Alkem, the largest manufacturer of Fructo-Oligo Saccharides, which helps the growth of good probiotic bacteria, is planning to roll out more products in the national and global markets, said Sharad.
PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4 per cent, followed by ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, L&T, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto. NSE Nifty tanked 258.40 points to 14,359.45.
In comparison, Indian companies received only 23 out of 139 final approvals (16.54 per cent) in the corresponding period in 2006.
A recent court ruling in the US on allowing the declaratory judgment provision in the US patent law has come as a boost to Indian pharmaceutical companies such as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma and Lupin.
Ranbaxy is understood to have pulled out of the race to acquire German pharmaceutical company Merck's generic business on concerns of over-valuation.
Analysts feel this decision is yet another example of big-ticket acquisitions turning sour for Indian pharma firms, as happened in the case of Dr Reddy's acquisition of Betapharm of Germany for Rs 2,250 crore (Rs 22.5 billion).
As many as 15 companies across the world have lined up generic variants of Pfizer's Zoloft (Sertaline HCL), for which the exclusive six-month marketing period granted to the successful patent challenger, Teva of Israel, ends on Tuesday.
This will be the largest M&A by an Indian firm, to be complete by January-end.
Reddy stated that KCR's statement on proposing a new constitution is an extension of the idea of the BJP.
The booming real estate markets in the National Capital Region, Mumbai and Bangalore registered the highest global yields in 2003, according to the latest updates by Chesterton Meghraj, a global real estate consulting group.
Thirty stocks from various sectors form the Sensex.
Participants will watch out for the Brexit poll outcome in the late morning trades tomorrow.
Not too long ago, authorised generics were used by the big US-based pharmaceutical companies to thwart competition from makers of generic drugs
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday called on Governor H R Bhardwaj, who is gunning for the removal of Reddy brothers from the state ministry, and conveyed the government's stand against a CBI inquiry into the illegal mining scam at this stage.
