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.
The phase-three human clinical trial of indigenously developed anti-coronavirus vaccine candidate Covaxin began at the AIIMS in New Delhi on Thursday, with Dr M V Padma Srivastava, the chief of Neurosciences Centre at the premier institute, and three other volunteers receiving the first dose.
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.
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.
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).
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission to the Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture the Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis with certain conditions, official sources said.
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.
Benchmark indices failed to hold on to early gains and closed in the red for the seventh straight session on Thursday, with participants remaining in wait-and-watch mode ahead of the RBI's interest rate decision. Unabated selling by foreign funds added to the pressure, though a modest recovery in the rupee cushioned the fall, traders said. After rallying in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex came under selling pressure in the afternoon session and closed 188.32 points or 0.33 per cent lower at 56,409.96.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of Telangana on the 10th State Formation Day while state Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy separately hoisted the national flag on the occasion here on Friday.
The emergency use of the drug will be for adult COVID-19 patients with SpO2 93 percent and who have a high risk of progression of the disease including hospitalisation or death subject to certain conditions
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.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
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.
Not too long ago, authorised generics were used by the big US-based pharmaceutical companies to thwart competition from makers of generic drugs
Participants will watch out for the Brexit poll outcome in the late morning trades tomorrow.
Trade generic drugs (medicines that are sold directly through distributors) are fast becoming a key segment for domestic pharma firms as volume growth slows in the overall market. Big companies like Cipla and Alkem have a significant presence in the segment but recently, players like Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) have also entered this market. What is driving big pharma's focus on trade generics? The volume growth in the Indian Pharma Market (IPM) has come down from 5.6 per cent in FY16 to 0.1 per cent in FY23.
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.
On December 4 last year, the stock of the world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer, fell 10.6 per cent, wiping out more than $21 billion in market value in a single day.
Notwithstanding the fact that the country's pharmaceutical (pharma) pricing regulator has allowed a 12 per cent price increase for medicines listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) in 2023, analysts and industry insiders predict that the overall domestic pharma industry will only witness a price hike of 5-6 per cent. This is attributed to higher competitive intensity in the market. Krishnakumar V, executive director and chief operating officer (CEO) of Eris Lifesciences, a domestic-focused pharma company, noted that the NLEM segment experienced growth suppression of around 150 basis points due to price reductions during the January to July period this year.
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.
This import duty exemption would remain in force till October 31 this year.
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.
The markets opened firm on Tuesday and crossed the 7,800 mark after opening with a gain of 7 points at 7,774.
