Swedish firm Astra Pharmaceutical will buy out the remaining less than 10 per cent stake in its local arm Astrazeneca Pharma India by next year following approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Reduction in customs duty on certain bulk drugs used in making life saving drugs to 5% is a positive for companies having product pipeline catering to these segments.
Investors' wealth fell by Rs 2.89 lakh crore in two days of market fall, with the BSE Sensex tumbling 796 points on Wednesday, amid weak global market trends ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Fresh foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of a host of interest rate decisions from global central banks also added to the overall bearish trend. Besides, the US Fed meeting, the BoE (Bank of England) and the BoJ (Bank of Japan) are also scheduled to meet this week.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Jubilant Organosys, Orchid Chemicals, Aurobindo Pharma and Shasun Chemicals and Drugs are among those who have borrowed either to expand locally or to acquire companies abroad, but are now struggling to repay the dues, analysts say. Some of the companies' debt now exceeds their market capitalisation, as local and global investors sold stocks on concerns over slowdown and falling revenues. A few drug makers may be forced to sell assets to repay debt.
Ahmedabad-based Nirma group and leading private equity firms have joined the race to acquire BSE-listed Glenmark Life Sciences. The acquisition by chemicals-to-cement major Nirma, if successful, would be a major boost for the health-care segment of the group, on the lines of its successful entry into the cement sector following its purchase of Lafarge India's assets for about Rs 9,400 crore in July 2016. It later followed up by buying Emami cement assets for Rs 5,500 crore in February 2020.
From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Nestle, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and ITC were the major laggards. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Titan and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers.
Revenues and earnings to improve for companies with low forex liabilities and no forward cover.
The Promed group manufactures and delivers branded as well as generic pharmaceutical formulations to Russia, CIS, south-east Asian countries, the UK and EU.
According to Amitabh Arora, chief representative, Think London, "The agency will help Indian companies enter business agreements with 100-odd biotech and pharma companies and about 50 contract research organisations based in London besides arranging private equity from London-based PE firms.
Dinesh Thakur is famous for exposing Ranbaxy safety problems
Indian pharmaceutical companies, which always wanted a big share in the global copycat drug market, are betting high on the oral contraceptive (OC) market in America.
Acquisition to boost its generics business in developed markets.
Looking at the behavior of the Indian stock markets in the last one month, one gets a feeling that it has again proved to be the proverbial conundrum, something extremely difficult to predict in the short term.
Post Ranbaxy episode, domestic pharma companies may face frequent inspections and deeper scrutiny.
Industry must take strong collective action to protect the reputation it enjoys in global markets, says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
In a dazzling resurgence, foreign investors have graced the Indian equity markets with an influx of nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2023, fuelled by optimism over the country's resilient economic fundamentals amid shadows of a gloomy global scenario. Experts believe that the positive trend may continue in 2024. This follows Indian equities witnessing the worst-ever net outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh crore by FPIs in 2022 on aggressive rate hikes by the central banks globally after net inflows for three consecutive years.
Multinational drug manufacturers such as Pfizer and DSM are increasingly getting into contract manufacturing alliances with emerging bulk drug makers in the country, bypassing established players such as Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's.
From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Titan, Power Grid and State Bank of India were the major gainers. ITC, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and JSW Steel were among the laggards.
The commerce ministry has sought a review of foreign direct investment policy in the pharmaceutical sector, in the light of recent takeovers of domestic companies by multinationals.
Supreme Court will give its verdict on April 1 on whether Swiss giant Novartis AG's cancer treatment drug Glivec deserves a patent in the country not it doesn't.
Indian IT service providers are increasing their exposure in the healthcare and pharma segments. Multi-million dollar deals in this space by IT firms over the past three-four months only buttress this trend. Healthcare outsourcing has moved away from just undertaking medical transcription and business process outsourcing (BPO) work to core functions such as drug discovery, testing, research and development.
According to industry estimates, the sector's revenue would increase eight-10 per cent in 2013-14, against 12 per cent in 2012-13.
In 2012, employers looked most for professionals in IT or software services, FMCG industries and BPO or ITES, followed by real estate and pharmaceuticals or life sciences to fill mid or senior positions.
Drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma on Monday said it has entered into licensing and supply agreements with London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to supply several solid dosage and sterile products for emerging markets.
India's exports declined by 6.86 per cent to $34.48 billion in August this year as against $37.02 billion in the same month last year, government data showed on Friday. Imports too declined by 5.23 per cent to $58.64 billion as against $61.88 billion recorded in August 2022.
BSE Healthcare index slumped by nearly 2% followed by counters like Consumer Durable, Banks, Oil & Gas and PSU shares, all falling down by 1% each.
'India has the potential to do a lot more to take advantage of the time today where we stand to gain, geopolitically and in terms of market attractiveness.'
The rapidly progressing Indian pharma industry, assisted by a strong research and development base, skilled manpower, low-cost base and manufacturing excellence has provided the industry with the right platform to move towards achieving its goal.
Regulator likely to probe possible violation of insider-trading norms.
JSW Steel (3.37 per cent), Tata Steel (3.33 per cent), Maruti (3.24 per cent), Power Grid (3.07 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2.95 per cent), Bajaj Finance (2.12 per cent) and Tech Mahindra (2.22 per cent) were among major gainers. On the other hand, Ultratech Cement, Sun Pharma, Nestle and L&T were the losers.
The numbers are the highest ever in the history of domestic drug discovery initiatives triggered by companies such as Dr Reddy's and Ranbaxy over a decade ago.
Companies that are developing biosimilars (for regulated markets) or have portfolio of new chemical entities (NCEs) under development.
These two are now among India's most valuable business houses, ahead of older and more diversified groups, such as the Bajaj, OP Jindal, Anil Ambani, UB, Godrej and Hinduja.
Indian exporters shipping goods to Israel may face higher insurance premiums and shipping costs due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to experts. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack by air, land and sea by the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. The International trade experts said the conflict may reduce the profits of domestic exporters but will not impact trade volumes unless war escalates.
Aurobindo Pharma on Thursday said it had received US FDA approval for anti-retroviral Lamivudine, thus enabling it to participate in the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief), a US government initiative.
But the newer entrants prove nimbler than the slowing pioneers.
Sensex rises, Nifty holds 8,900; FMCG, Pharma shares lead.
'A key reason for the strong interest in IPOs has been an increased focus on profitability and reasonable pricing of deals.'
The WHO on Tuesday issued a product alert over contaminated syrup by an Indian manufacturer, warning that it is unsafe for use, especially in children, and may result in serious injury or death.
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