Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a side conversation for Indian pharma. It is fast becoming central to how drugs will be discovered, made, and supplied. Along with that shift comes a sharper focus on innovation, on the one hand, and quality and trust, on the other.
Ahmedabad-headquartered Zydus Lifesciences posted a 17 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in revenue from operations to Rs 6,123 crore, while the net profit increased by 38 per cent to Rs 1,258.6 crore aided by consistent performance in the US and India formulations businesses.
'We are looking at what kind of products, diagnostics or other solutions we can offer to become a well-rounded player in a particular disease area globally.'
Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences said on Tuesday that a new drug application for its oral drug Desidustat used in treating anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients had been accepted by the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA). In 2020, CMS International Development and Management Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Medical System Holdings Ltd obtained an exclusive license for the product from Zydus. CKD involves a gradual loss of functioning of kidneys and eventually leads to kidney failure.
This government's approval for use of the antiviral drug comes at a time when India's daily COVID tally is crossing the 3-lakh mark.
Drug shortages in the US are at an all-time high, and price erosion has stabilised, which could benefit Indian pharmaceutical (pharma) companies with a US focus, according to analysts. Nuvama Research analysts said that US price erosion seems to have normalised to its old levels of 6-8 per cent and volumes are picking up with easing of inventory. Similarly, an ICICIdirect analyst noted: "Price erosion intensity has now moderated to a single digit and is expected to tone down a
The company said the drug will be made available across India through the group's strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.
As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.
Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Thursday said it has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) with the Indian drug regulator for its three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, and plans to manufacture 10-12 crore doses annually.
Government institutions and pharma industry are examining if a 'cocktail' approach to making a multi-variant Covid-19 vaccine works against multiple strains of the ever-mutating virus, reports Sohini Das.
'The Centre is planning to procure five million vials of Remdesivir ahead of the third wave. What's better is that this time, the government is paying us in advance,' said a senior executive of a Mumbai-based pharma player which makes Remdesivir. Sohini Das reports.
This could also be India's first vaccine for children aged 12 years and above as the company has conducted trials on the age group. The decision, however, lies with the regulator, reports Sohini Das
So far, no other vaccine has been approved globally for children below 12 years. Sohini Das reports.
Sohini Das chats with MD of Zydus Cadila Healthcare Pankaj R Patel & his son Sharvil Patel.
Can Interferon alfa-2b treat COVID-19 effectively?
A back of the envelope calculation shows that India has roughly over 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines consisting primarily of Covishield doses.
While Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is in trials among children already, Serum Institute of India will begin Novavax vaccine trials on children from July, whereas the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for adolescents in the United States; and Cadila Healthcare's ZyCoV-D has done trials on 12 year-olds and above already, reports Sohini Das.
As on July 31, the valuation of his shareholding in the company stood at Rs 9,830 crore.
The Gujarat high court on Tuesday declared state Bharatiya Janata Party minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.