Indian drugmakers Eris Lifesciences, Wockhardt and Lupin are prepping to cash in when Danish company Novo Nordisk bows out of the human insulin pen market by the end of this year and creates an opportunity estimated to be worth Rs 600-800 crore in the domestic market. Some self-use disposable pens are pre-filled with insulin and others can be reused with new cartridges.
Mumbai-based pharma major Wockhardt, which is gearing up to launch its promising antibiotic candidate Zaynich soon, on Friday announced a shift in its United States (US) operations. The Indian pharma giant revealed that it has decided to exit the generics pharmaceutical segment in the country.
Habil F Khorakiwala's exit as managing director of pharma major Wockhardt may have been somewhat inglorious but it is one he didn't deserve.
We were aggressively expanding and investing heavily in various new hospital projects. But the global meltdown and crash of the markets put a lot of financial strain on us, says Habil Khorakiwala.
Ambani and Adani account for a fifth of the net worth of all billionaire promoters in the country and half the combined net worth of the top 10.
The number of dollar billionaires in India has risen to 55 this year from 46 last year.
Focus to continue on anti-infectives market abroad; no plan for out-licensing
Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of pharma major Wockhardt, is on a well-deserved holiday abroad.
Wockhardt MD Murtaza Khorakiwala said his firm had responded to the FDA's observations but declined to give details.
'In any business you have to achieve short-term goals.' 'But at the same time you have to keep your broader perspective long term.' 'It is good for business survival.'
'15, 17 years back we were not even in existence in the US. Today nearly 1/3 of prescriptions written comes from India.' 'India is showing that in a very competitive environment -- like the US and Europe -- our industry is doing very well.'
The sale of the 10 hospital properties to Fortis Healthcare will help Khorakiwala repay the Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) debt on Wockhardt Hospital's books.
India should take up Pakistan's offer to help in curbing terrorism without any prejudice and work towards a terror-free South Asia, Fakruddin T Khorakiwala, founder, Wockhardt Group, said on Saturday.
In a letter to all employees on April 1, a day after the company announced corporate debt restructuring to manage over Rs 3,400 crore of debts and his stepping down as chairman, Habil Khorakiwala indicated Wockhardt wasn't looking to sell its core businesses but would divest some non-core businesses. He said the mounting debts were due to losses from mark-to-market forex issues, liquidity issues, banks tightening lending norms and the global recession.
Wockhardt will divest a 24 per cent stake in its unlisted subsidiary, Wockhardt Hospitals.
'There are different kinds of risk.' 'It is a very powerful value. Your ability to de-risk the risk is also as important for risk taking.'
Reacting to Finance Minister P Chidamabaram's statement that a section of industry is artificially pushing up prices, Habil Khorakiwala, the new president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said there was no evidence
Pharmaceutical major Wockhardt is looking at foraying into Japan either through exports or by setting up a manufacturing base.
Chances are that customer disagreements are not that frequent. If they happen, the customer may have little choice but to return. Even in competitive markets, a habit once formed is difficult to break.
'Indian companies are increasingly investing in research and looking at ways they can leverage their India advantage,'Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala tells Priya Ganapati.
Apollo Tyres chairman and managing director Onkar Kanwar on Tuesday took over as the new president of industry body FICCI for 2004-05.
According to the chairman, there will be an annual loss of Rs 100 crore due to the MHRA alert on Waluj plant
These drugs will be entering in their global Phase -3 clinical trials early next year.
Wockhardt might be headed for another crisis, as it has come under the scanner of US health regulator.
Move comes within months of acquiring Wockhardt hospitals. Fortis Healthcare, a hospital chain promoted by former Ranbaxy owners Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh, is close to a major acquisition overseas
Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala can breathe easy, as bankers have approved the debt restructuring package he had sought three months ago.
Earlier this week, the company postponed the announcement of its results for the year-ended December 31, 2008, as the statutory audit could not be completed because of restructuring of certain of its businesses and subsidiaries. In a major top management rejig, the company's chairman and managing director Habil Khorakiwala, stepped down as managing director.
Drug major Wockhardt today joined the growing list of Indian companies to be referred to the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) mechanism, a system to deal with cases in which multiple lenders are involved.
Fortis is reportedly close to acquiring 10 hospitals of healthcare major Wockhardt for up to Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) and an announcement could be made anytime now.
"The credit turmoil that the world is seeing now is clearly the worst in history," says Habil Khorakiwala, executive chairman, Wockhardt. He should know, as his company finds itself in trouble over a Rs 3,400 crore debt burden.
Wockhardt had a net debt of Rs 3,400 crore (Rs 34 billion) as of December 2008. It was hoping to reduce this, sources said, by selling its Irish subsidiary, Pinewood Laboratories, and a stake in Habil Khorakiwala's privately-held Wockhardt Hospitals. A Wockhardt spokesperson declined comment. An e-mail sent on Tuesday to the chairman remained unanswered.
Ex-head of BPL Mobile and currently a Rajya Sabha MP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be the new head of Ficci.
Wockhardt Ltd said on Tuesday it has got US Food and Drug Administration's approval to market painkiller tablets containing a combination of Dextropropoxyphene napsylate and Acetaminophen in the US market.
If the company manages to get a go-ahead from the regulator for this plant, it might result in resumption of supplies of several of their products, barred from the US last year.
The Indian industry on Wednesday offered to play the peacemaker in the land row in West Bengal, parts of which have been witnessing violent protests by farmers against acquisition of land for industrial purposes.
India Inc hailed the Railway Bugdet on Monday as promising and said measures, especially those on containers and freight services, will not only help the industry but benefit the general public as well.
Indian pharmaceutical major Wockhardt has launched the country's first automatic insulin delivery device and recombinant insulin cartridge.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances