'India is clearly moving toward more targeted treatment pathways in high-burden cancers.'
MSD Pharmaceuticals, the wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based multinational drug company Merck, has chartered an ambitious growth plan to emerge as one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in India. The Merck subsidiary has plans to step up its research and clinical trial programmes in India, mainly in association with hospitals and universities.
MSD Pharmaceuticals, the wholly owned Indian subsidiary of Merck, is awaiting approval from the Drug Controller General of India to launch a human papillomavirus vaccine to treat cervical cancer. The company has already conducted clinical trials.
Two Indian students in their 20s were killed and two others injured in a car crash in County Carlow, southern Ireland. The Indian Embassy in Dublin issued a condolence message on social media. The four friends had been sharing a house in the local area and had recently finished third-level education at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow.
Actor Poonam Pandey is not being considered as the brand ambassador of the government's national campaign to spread awareness on cervical cancer, Union health ministry officials said on Wednesday.
The company is demerging its new chemical entity research unit into a separate company to meet the demands of increased spend on research and development, and to insulate investors from the risks involved. According to the deal signed with Merck, NPIL will discover and develop new drugs for two selected targets provided by Merck in the area of cancer.
US drug maker Merck & Co has terminated its nearly two-year-old alliance with Ranbaxy Laboratories to develop anti-infective medicines, which could have fetched the Indian firm $100 million over a period of five years.
When United States-based drug major Merck bought Schering-Plough early this month, it decided to go off the beaten track. Instead of having one managing director for the merged entity, it decided to retain both: Naveen A Rao will continue to head Merck's subsidiary MSD Pharmaceuticals in India and K G Ananthakrishnan will retain his position as MD of Schering-Plough's subsidiary Fulford India.
Drug firm MSD has decided to enter into voluntary licensing agreements for investigational oral antiviral drug candidate 'Mmolnupiravir', which is being studied for the treatment of Covid-19, with Indian drug firms Sun Pharma, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Emcure Pharma and Hetero Labs, its Indian arm said on Tuesday.
The situation is severe in North India as most of the logistics operation was manned by migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The problem with manpower is not only in courier and delivery services, but also at a shop level.
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Global pharmaceutical firms have had a series of patent disputes with Indian makers of generic drugs and several recent Indian rulings have gone against the international giants.
Reinvent and innovate will be the key mantra for the Indian pharma industry in the New Year as the 'pharmacy of the world' looks to move from volume to value leadership, amid emerging challenges of inflation and pricing pressures in the global markets. While R&D investment, market competitiveness, regulatory scrutiny, and domestic price regulations are expected to shape the growth of generics and injectable products, concerns such as price control and customs duties on medical equipment will continue to bother the healthcare industry in 2023. The industry believes that in view of India's G20 Presidency, digital health innovation, achieving universal health coverage, improving healthcare infrastructure and delivery will continue to be the key driving factors in 2023.
Merck is all set to introduce three of its money-spinning drugs - Cosopt, Invanz and Pneuvax in India.
"Through this partnership, the reach of Sitagliptin and Sitagliptin plus Metformin will be enhanced amongst doctors and patients in India, helping them efficaciously manage the disease," Sun Pharma Chief Executive Officer Kalyanasundaram said in a joint statement issued by the two firms.
The company did not respond to specific queries on the project's expansion.
Dilip Shanghvi founded Sun Pharma in 1983.
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