Health and Medicines

Abbott buys Piramal's generics business for billions

2010-05-25T11:02:00.002+05:30

After generics maker Ranbaxy was sold by its promoters for $4.6 billion, which was five times its revenues in 2008, another deal at a record-breaking valuation has taken place in the pharma business. US drug maker Abbott has paid $3.7 billion (around Rs 17,000 crore) for Piramal Healthcare's Indian branded generics business, which is a record eight or nine times its sales.

With this deal, Abbott becomes the top pharma company in India with a market share of about 7 per cent. It also gets 350 brands, and one manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh, and a little over 5,000 employees, from Piramal Healthcare. Indian generics companies have been under pressure from India's adoption of the new drug patent regime since 2005. Other international pharma companies like Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline are looking to acquire Indian branded generics firms to raise their market share. The Indian pharmaceutical sector is growing at a rate of 13%-15% compared with 2-3% in the West.

Diabetes in India

2010-04-26T13:05:00.003+05:30

According to Chennai-based diabetologist V. Mohan, India has 50 million people with diabetes and there are another 50 million in the pre-diabetes stage. "It is estimated that the country will have 87 million people with diabetes by the year 2030. India, therefore, has a huge problem of diabetes but the number of professionals to treat diabetes are still less." The spread of diabetes is no longer confined to urban areas, with their unhealthy lifestyles and eating habits, but is fanning out into the rural areas.

Awareness of the disease, and what causes it, is also limited. Pierre Chancel, senior vice-president at the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventisfor for global diabetes, observes, "Firstly, diagnosis in India is still low. We will work to increase awareness and educate people about diabetes, so the number of patients under treatment will increase." Sanofi-Aventis is the market leader in the Rs 1,400-crore Indian anti-diabetic market, and one of its best-selling drugs is Amaryl.

Among new treatments for diabetes in India are the Exenatide (Byetta) injection, new oral drugs, inhaled insulin, Generex Oral-lyn(TM) insulin spray, Stem cell therapy, Pancreas/Islet cells transplants, and Biocon's oral insulin drug IN-105.

Thailand patents and generics

2010-03-10T13:27:00.003+05:30

Thai Pharmaceutical workers pack anti-retroviral drug Lanavir.

In 2006 Thailand suspended patent protections for expensive cutting-edge treatments for AIDS, cancer and heart disease, giving Thais access to cheap copycat versions. Activists against AIDS and poverty hailed Thailand as a global leader, but the kingdom has faced heavy pressure and threats of legal action from Western pharmaceutical firms.

In its last annual report in March 2009, the US Trade Representative's office said Thailand was within its WTO rights to approve generic drugs but called for "transparency and due process." Campaigners voiced outrage last year when they said they obtained a letter showing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government would not license more generic drugs as the issue was holding up free trade talks with the United States.
Thailand seeks WTO solution on generics
Much of the generic drugs for AIDS treatment in Thailand come from India, which had a different patents story. They allowed only process patents in the past, which ensured that domestic pharmaceutical companies acquired the ability to manufacture copy-cat low cost generics. Those companies have now acquired capital, intellectual property, and infrastructure, and the Indian government's recognition of product patents in 2005 has not affected the availability of low-cost medicines in that country.

Vscan portable pricing

2010-03-06T09:58:00.003+05:30

Bangalore-based GE Healthcare last week unveiled the Vscan, a pocket-sized, battery-powered ultrasound machine with the look and feel of a cellphone. Vscan joins other portable ultrasound machines in the Rs 570-crore Indian ultrasound market. The Vscan is priced at Rs 5.5-6 lakh. Besides its competitive pricing, the Vscan is highly portable because of its small size.

Businessworld

GE says it has a commitment for about 50 Vscans from three-four corporate hospitals. But to go massmarket, it will have to target individual doctors and specialist clinics. Point-of-care devices such as the Vscan could potentially eat into the income that doctors are known to unofficially make for referring patients to labs for tests.

Jayant Singh, medical technology practice head at Frost & Sullivan, says Vscan will do “very well” in pockets where patients are willing to pay for the speed and convenience. GE has opened discussions with the government to make the portable Vscan available in primary healthcare centres as well.

Biotech sector and the Budget

2010-02-17T11:24:00.002+05:30

CMD of Biocon Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said in an interview that indigenous biotech products must have more favourable terms than MNCs who enjoy higher prices from National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA) and cross subsidise their tender prices as a result. "Only India has such a skewed policy that acts against its own industry!"
Business Standard
Another important requirement for the industry was adoption of Clause 10AA of the SEZ Act with retrospective effect. This was a long-standing issue yet to be resolved, she said. According to her, the Finance Minister admitted committing an error when rolling out the SEZ policy and took corrective action but prospectively - this is unfair to those who invested in setting up manufacturing SEZ like Serum Institute of India and Biocon (India's top two biotech firms). "This has prompted Biocon to opt for overseas operations that offer better investment terms -- example Malaysia", she said.

President of the Association of Biotechnology Enterprises (ABLE) and Managing Director of Metahelix Life Sciences, K K Narayanan, said, "To promote the agri-biotech R&D investments, Government may also consider income-tax holiday for ten years on the lines similar to IT industry." Among other biotech sector from this year's Budget are: import duty exemption on equipment and instrumentation, and 200 per cent weighted average tax deduction on all R & D and patenting costs.

Ashwagandha biocompunds properties

2010-01-06T12:41:00.007+05:30

The Ashwagandha plant, grown in dry parts of India, has long been known for its rejuvenating properties in the traditional Indian System of Medicine. It's seeds and leaves are used in Ayurveda for treating carbuncles, inflammation, conjunctivitis, and swellings. The bark of the plant is useful for asthma and is applied to the skin for treating bed sores. All plant extracts have strong anti-bacterial properties. Made from such extracts is Ashwagandha Tea, useful in calming the nerves and reducing stress. It helps clear the mind and improves memory.

Ashwagandha root contains potent biocompounds used in treating rheumatic pain, inflammation of joints, nervous disorders, epilepsy, hiccups, cold, cough, female sterility, and senile debility. The dried roots also act as sedatives and are used for treating ulcers.

Because of the root's similarity to ginseng, and its use for treating sexual disorders, Ashwagandha is mistakenly called Indian ginseng. But it is a more comprehensive medicinal plant. Its roots, fruits, leaves and seeds are widely used in the preparation of diuretic, aphrodisiac and adaptogenic agents. Ashwagandha medicines contain biocompounds like hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, methyl paraben, sodium starch glycolate, propyl paraben, and microcrystalline cellulose. Sold in the form of pills, powder, and syrups, Ashwagandha is a part of many other general health supplements like chyawanprash.

Gluten free Jowar

2009-12-12T14:30:00.003+05:30

Jowar roti is commonly eaten in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. While jowar (sorghum) is a coarse grain, produced in arid lands and used as fodder, it does have some health benefits. Consumed in the same rural areas jowar is relatively gluten free and is ideal for people who are allergic to gluten.

Jowar is rich in calcium, iron, phosphorous, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibre. The coarse cereal also contains antioxidant compounds.

Dr Reddy's Lipitor

2009-11-08T12:21:00.001+05:30

Biotechnology firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories has developed a generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's largest selling cholesterol-lowering drug. "We have filed an ANDA (abbreviated new drug filing) for atrovastatin and notified Pfizer accordingly," Dr Reddy's told Reuters in response to an email query.

So far, Ranbaxy is the only other Indian drugmaker to develop a generic for the drug, whose U.S. patent expires in 2010. Under a settlement with Pfizer, Ranbaxy has agreed to launch its generic by November 2011.
Reuters

Ayurveda experts and modern medicine

2009-10-19T06:00:00.003+05:30

Ayurveda experts from across India met at Nagpur's Baidyanath Bhavan this week. Rajesh Shukla, a retired medical officer from Sagar, strongly believes that medicinal plants should be preserved and grown in their natural environment without using any chemicals like fertilisers. This prevents the plant from absorbing any heavy metals. Govind Asati, a teacher at government Ayurved College in city, holds the Ayurvedic practitioners and researchers responsible for the delay in required recognition to Ayurveda as a national system of medicine. "We have failed to take this science to even our own people in the right way," he says.
TOI
Snehlata Shrivastav
Brahmanand Nayak, an MD in Ayurveda from Bangalore, has been bringing out a research journal, first and only one of its kind published from 12 countries simultaneously. "Medicine is a science and so is Ayurveda. But we have not been able to share this fact with the world. Though research in Ayurveda may be in infancy stage, evidence is fast pouring in on how the plant-based medicines work at molecular levels.

B P Tamrakar, a professor of Ayurveda from Bhilai, says, "Ayurveda can cure sickle cell to about 90%, turn hepatitis B and E positive patients to negative and prolong the duration between blood transfusions required by a thalassemia patient. But this is possible with right integration of modern medicine with Ayurveda." He has treated 150 sickle cell patients, 70 hepatitis infections and is conducting research with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and College of Pharmacy, Delhi.

Biocon insulin pill

2009-10-02T13:01:00.002+05:30

The world's first oral insulin pills will hit the markets in 2011, after human clinical trials reached their final stages, says Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. "This is a product that we see to be a game-changer," Mazumdar-Shaw, 53, said. "It has huge potential and certainly can be a multibillion dollar blockbuster."
Bloomberg
Of the estimated 246 million people affected by diabetes worldwide, about 5 percent to 10 percent have the type 1 form that’s marked by the inability to produce insulin, a hormone that turns blood sugar into energy, according to the International Diabetes Federation. India is the worst-affected by diabetes, with about 41 million sufferers, followed by China and the U.S.

Biocon has also purchased IDL Speciality Chemicals, which makes Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (API), the basic raw material used in the manufacturing of medicines. Biocon has bought IDL from Gulf Oil Corporation, a Hinduja Group company.

Ranbaxy generic Rocaltrol

2009-09-04T14:07:00.000+05:30

Reuters

Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Thursday it would launch in the United States a generic version of Rocaltrol used in the treatment of ailments arising from renal failure. Ranbaxy will market the drug, which has annual sales worth $70 million, in an agreement with Validus Pharmaceuticals, a U.S.-based company focused on acquiring and marketing prescription drugs.

Ranbaxy, in which Japan's Daiichi Sankyo bought about 64 percent last year, said in a statement it would launch the drug immediately and expected to be the only firm offering the generic version of Rocaltrol.

Neem patents

2009-08-12T11:33:00.003+05:30

The neem tree in full bloom in Bikaner. Across India the neem tree, and its leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit, are used in traditional medicine, religious ceremonies, and food preparations. Its Latin name is Azadirachta Indica, which is based on the Persian term for this ancient Indian tree: Azad-daracht-e-Hind or free (standing) tree of India.

In Rajasthan it is said that the temperature under a Neem tree is always two or three degrees cooler than in the shade of any other tree. Neem twigs are used for cleaning the teeth and gums, its leaves keep away moths and termite, neem bark paste is used for treating skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, ulcers. Animals eat Neem leaves as fodder in the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the seeds of the fruit are ground to make a natural pesticide.

While Indians have used neem for medicinal purposes in wound healing, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and skin care, US companies appear more interested in obtaining neem patents in the areas of biodiesel production, fertilizers, dental formulations, food packaging, and pharmaceutical compositions. A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West. The study reveals that while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has the single most neem patents, individuals (41.84%) and private companies (31.63%) hold the majority of neem patents in India. Government institutes (which include CSIR, the Defense Research and Development Organization, and others) hold 26.53% of patents on India’s ancient asset.

Eating rat meat

2009-08-03T08:13:00.003+05:30

Excessive meat eating increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and is generally bad for health. It is also bad for the environment and may put a strain on our ability to feed the increasing global population. The livestock that we eat, consume grasses and grain, which need to be produced on land and it is estimated that 8 kg of grain is required to produce 1 kg of meat. The tradition of eating domesticated animals in temperate countries is different from countries located in warmer climes; thus in the west livestock provided food in the lean winter months, while this was not the case in tropical countries, where plant food was available throughout the year.

In the Indian context, affluence and higher class status, led to dietary restrictions while the lower classes indiscriminately ate the meat of numerous animals. In the west affluence led to more meat eating, and now this has become the case in modern India as well. People eat meat because they are conditioned to do so, for the taste, or for the protein. This businessworld article says that per capita meat consumption in India could reach 18 kg in 2020, compared to 10-12 kg now. According to some estimates, the available fodder can meet the demand of only 40 per cent of livestock. One solution for increasing demands of meat could be met by rat meat, like in Cambodia:

Rat meat is rich in protein and tastier than chicken. A traditional rat eating community in India, called Musahars, usually hunt rats in paddy fields. Eating rat meat would control the rat population, which consumes a large portion of precious foodgrain stocks. Those who eat meat for its taste, or for the protein, should get over any stigma associated with eating rats and do their bit to reduce the pressure on land, and save the environment!

Shantha Biotechnics sale

2009-07-27T09:36:00.002+05:30

Protein purification equipment at Shantha Biotechnics

Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics is up for sale. Its majority stakeholder, French biotech bioMérieux, plans to offload half its holding, as the Indian company failed to deliver the expected returns. While Shantha’s founder K.I. Varaprasad Reddy claims that bioMérieux may close the deal with UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline or France’s Sanofi-Aventis within a month, industry insiders say that bioMérieux is unlikely to find takers so easily.

Shantha signed a technology agreement with Switzerland’s Berna Biotech (later acquired by Dutch biotech Crucell) to manufacture the pentavalent vaccine (five in one) back in 2007. Shantha recently received an order for 350 million doses from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). However the agreement included a clause stipulating that if there was a change in majority shareholder, the agreement would become void. Mr. Reddy though says that Shantha Biotechnics could manufacture the vaccine using a different technology.

After launching India’s first recombinant vaccine for hepatitis B in 1997, Shantha Biotechnics introduced a set of other combination vaccines that offered immunization against multiple ailments. Another promising vaccine for rotavirus—which causes infant diarrhoea—funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is slated for launch in 2012. Shantha Biotechnics also has a product line from Pegylated Proteins. Most analysts say they don’t know the real reason for the sale. Emails and phone calls to bio-Mérieux weren’t answered.

Livemint
Businessworld

Methi health benefits

2009-07-19T10:10:00.002+05:30

Methi, or fenugreek, is a green vegetable known for its medicinal properties in India. Methi is grown in the winter season (rabi) in India and is resistant to frost. It's leaves and stems are cooked as a vegetable while the yellow seeds are used as spices in other dishes. Methi seeds are also used to make chutneys, pickles, curries, or are crushed into powder. Methi is most well-known for its curative properties in diabetes. A teaspoonful of methi seeds, 50 to 100 gm, can be taken daily by diabetics with a glass of water or milk.

Methi seeds give a nice scent to cooked dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. A herbal medicine company, Indus Biotech, is working on a pharmaceutical based on methi seeds extract for diabetes patients. According to the Ayurveda, methi seeds lower blood sugar, increase the appetite, aid digestion, relieve flatulence and acidity, and are useful in controlling heart disease. A paste made from methi seeds is good for the skin, and was used in ancient times for leprosy sufferers.

Biocon Mylan

2009-06-29T15:04:00.002+05:30

Indian biotechnology firm Biocon Ltd said on Monday it has signed a definitive agreement with Mylan Inc to develop, manufacture and supply high value generic biologic drugs globally. As part of the agreement, both companies will share development, capital and other costs to bring the products to market, it said in a statement. Mylan will have exclusive commercialisation rights in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and in the European Union countries through a profit sharing arrangement with Biocon. Mylan will have co-exclusive commercialisation rights with Biocon in all other markets.

Shares of Biocon rose 2.67% to Rs 232.80 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). “Through this partnership, we hope to deliver high quality affordable bio-generic antibodies and biologics, thereby addressing a need to lower spiraling healthcare costs in both the developed and the emerging economies,” Biocon chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.

Pharma numbers

2009-06-22T14:14:00.001+05:30

Businessworld
Noemie Bisserbe

The pharmaceuticals export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), set up by the ministry of commerce, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) are painting two very different pictures of the state of India’s drug exports in the run-up to the budget. According to Pharmexcil’s figures, exports to the US recorded a healthy 25.1 per cent growth to Rs 6,380 crore in the 11 months ended February 2009 compared to the same period last year.

However, a Ficci study released last month says that the global economic downturn has hurt the pharma industry, and drug exports to the US fell 37 per cent to $478 million (Rs 2,307 crore) in the five months ended February 2009, compared to $756 million (Rs 3,648 crore) in the same period last year. The different time frame as well as the currencies selected for the studies could be the reason for the stark difference. Still, the contrast is startling.

Biotechnology trade show Bangalore

2009-06-10T04:14:00.003+05:30

The ninth edition of Bangalore Bio, organised by the State Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science and Technology, and the Vision Group on Biotechnology, will be held from June 18 to 20. The show will host 100 biotech speakers including Nobel Laureate Richard J. Roberts, who will deliver the key-note address.

Discussions will be held on process development and bio manufacturing, medical devices diagnostics and informatics, animal cell culture, development of vaccines, and industrial biotechnology among others. Bangalore Bio this year will see 120 exhibitors from the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa, United States, Italy, Spain, Singapore and Japan. Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, which sponsors the annual biotechnology show, said, "Global research alliances and partnerships are critical to do research in a more cost affective, efficient and expedient way."

Meanwhile Shaw's company Biocon Limited got the BioSingapore Asia Pacific Biotechnology Award for "Best Listed Company" at the BioMedical Asia event held between 16 & 19 March 2009.

Biocon launches human insulin analogue Basalog

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw holds a vial of Basalog, a drug to control diabetes during its launch in Bangalore, India, Friday, May 29, 2009. Basalog, a long acting human insulin, will be available in 3 and 10 millimeter vials (photo: AP).

The product replaces other forms of insulin that do not act for a full 24 hours and require multiple injections. "The number of diabetics in the world, now 200 to 230 million, is expected to double by 2020. India alone may have 40 million diabetics and one out of every five diabetics in the world is likely to be of Indian origin by then," said Shaw at the launch.

Meanwhile Biocon's oral insulin drug IN-105 is in long-term human clinical trials.

Ayurveda manuscripts and medicines

2009-05-27T08:19:00.003+05:30

Many developments in traditional Ayurveda, classed under the Indian System of Medicine, and governed by the Department of Ayush under the Ministry of Health. The Drugs & Cosmetics Act of 1940 lists 54 texts, including the Charak Samhita of the 3rd century BCE, as authoritative ayurveda texts. But in a three-year project of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine (IIHM), based in Hyderabad, conducted with permission from the Ministry of Health, 30,000 ayurvedic manuscripts have been collected.

The manuscripts date back to the 15th century right through to the 19th century, and are written in Marathi, Modi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Kannada, Urdu, Persian and Hindi. They contain advice on proper eating habits, effective herbal medicines, concoctions and the like, and have been collected from various parts of India like Pudducherry, Gwalior, Nizamabad and Pune. 800 of these have been digitised and once the project is over, IIHM will upload the information on the internet for research and public usage.

Ayurvedic medicines are presently classed as herbal products and not drugs. There is a proposal with the Drug Technical Advisory Board, for amending the Drugs & Cosmetics Act to include new guidelines, which will make clinical trials mandatory for Ayurvedic medicines enabling them to be classed as drugs. This will mean that allopathic doctors will now be able to prescribe Ayurvedic drugs to their patients. Ayurvedic products for treating chronic diseases have fewer side effects. "There are no chemical drugs to treat chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Phytopharmaceuticals can fill this gap," adds Somesh Sharma, chief scientific officer at Piramal Healthcare.

Pharmaceutical firms in India defy slowdown

2009-04-26T12:43:00.002+05:30

Pharmaceutical firms are defying a broad-based slowdown in Indian exports. Growing demand for cheap, generic drugs is proving a particular boon, reflected in a 46% year-on-year rise in exports to the U.S. during December, the last month for which finalized data are available.

Most pharmaceutical firms In India expect their domestic market to grow at around 20% this year and to maintain their operating margins, which are often close to 50%. A study by the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India suggests that the booming contract research outsourcing industry will expand from $400 million in turnover during 2007-08 to $1.3 billion in 2011-12 and $3 billion in 2015.

These are fairly new firms, but most others have built their balance sheets over some time. The oldest is Cipla, a 65-year old company with historical associations with Mahatma Gandhi that has developed a new strategy for getting retrovirals and other acute disease treatments cheaply into developing countries, despite opposition from the large international drug firms.

Forbes

Aurobindo Pharma enlarged prostate tablets

2009-04-11T13:45:00.001+05:30

Aurobindo Pharma, a developer of generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, has received its first product approval from Swissmedic, Government of Switzerland for the license of finasteride APL tablets (5mg). The drug is a generic equivalent of MERCK & CO Inc's Proscar Tablet.

Finasteride APL Tablet 5mg is used alone or in combination with another medication to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH, enlargement of the prostate gland). The drug is seen very effective in symptoms of BPH such as frequent and difficult urination. In addition, it also may decrease the chance of needing prostate surgery.

Further, the drug is also used to treat male pattern hair loss (a common condition in which men have gradual thinning of the hair on the scalp, leading to a receding hairline or balding on the top of the head.)

Aurobindo Pharma Pfizer deal

2009-03-04T14:31:00.002+05:30

Pfizer Inc has agreed to license an array of generic pills and injectable medicines from Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. "Aurobindo will manufacture the products and we will be responsible for the marketing," said Pfizer senior vice-president Kevin Cooper. Pfizer’s deal with Aurobindo is its first in-licensing deal where the US-based pharma giant takes on license, products from Aurobindo.

Pfizer declined to name the medicines, saying they covered a broad range of therapy areas including cardiovascular disease and central nervous system disorders. The medicines will be sold initially in the US and European markets. Pfizer estimates that the deal with Aurobindo will boost its revenue by $200 million till 2014.

Dengue Vaccine

2009-02-19T05:35:00.005+05:30

The mosquito-borne disease, caused by four types of dengue viruses, occurs mostly in tropical and subtropical countries but is spreading to new parts of the globe. This month there have been over 300 cases of Dengue in Australia's North Queensland region. After decades of absence in the United States, dengue has broken out on the Texas-Mexico border, and experts add that widespread dengue infection in the continental US is a real possibility.

A typical dengue infection confines a patient to bed for more than a week with fever and severe limb pains, but most recover. In less than five percent of cases, however, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), with often deadly complications, develop just as the fever breaks.

Dengue Vaccine is being developed by French vaccines maker Sanofi Pasteur. Its experimental tetravalent dengue vaccine was the first to reach this stage of clinical development. The trial will take place in Thailand.

Contract Research boom

2009-01-19T04:56:00.002+05:30

Indian contract research and manufacturing companies (Crams) such as Divis Laboratories, Jubilant Organosys, Piramal Healthcare, Biocon and Dishman Pharma may to benefit from the global slowdown as MNCs step up outsourcing to cut costs. India is an attractive destination for global companies for cost-effectiveness without compromising on quality, as drug development and manufacturing can be done in India at 40 per cent of the expenses in the US and Europe. India’s total CRO market in 2007 was about $323 million and is expected to grow at around 49 per cent CAGR up to 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Pharma innovator companies globally are cutting costs. GlaxoSmithKline is planning to cut 1,000 sales jobs, BMS has announced cost cutting of $2.5 billion by 2012. Aztra Zeneca is trimming its workforce by 9,000 people and Pfizer is closing down several manufacturing units and downsizing its workforce.

The Indian drug discovery services market, which includes biology and chemistry-based services and pre-toxicology services are estimated to touch $820 million by 2013, according to a Kotak Institutional Equity report. India’s chemistry skills, availability of labour, strengthened intellectual property rules and capabilities in pre-clinical development may lead to a contract research boom.

Business Standard

Dabur in Himachal

2008-12-26T11:39:00.002+05:30

Dabur India Ltd, with business interest in healthcare, personal care and food products, has got the green signal from the Himachal Pradesh government to set up another medicine manufacturing unit in the state, a senior official said here Thursday.

"The state government gave Dabur the permission to set up one more manufacturing unit in the state. It will invest Rs 130 crore," industries director Manoj Kumar told IANS. Kumar said the unit would be set up in the Baddi industrial area in Solan district, where Dabur's first manufacturing unit is located.

The single window clearance and monitoring authority for Himachal, cleared four investment proposals on Wednesday worth Rs 177.62 crore, which included Dabur's second plant in Baddi.

As per the company's proposal, Dabur will set up an allopathy and ayurvedic medicine manufacturing unit. "Dabur will provide direct employment to more than 400 people," Kumar said.

Sify