Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 15, 2012
Mumbai: There still is no single pill to address the pricing concerns involving the pharmaceutical industry.
However, different formulae to tackle the pricing of medicines have emerged from the half-a-dozen presentations made to the Group of Ministers by the drug industry and distributor organisations.
Source: The Economic Times, May 16, 2012
New Delhi: The Department of Pharmaceuticals has mooted a proposal to allow the country’s foreign investment approving body to continue clearing stake purchases by foreign firms in Indian drug companies, as it seeks to end the uncertainty that has stalled the investment plans of MNCs and foreign investors in the sector.
“The Department of Pharmaceuticals has sought approval from the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO has forwarded the proposal to both the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and health ministry for their views,” said a government official familiar with the development.
Source: Business standard, May 14, 2012
Chennai: A parliamentary standing committee has asked the government to make the uniform code of conduct for pharmaceutical marketing mandatory to keep cost of medicines in check. The panel on the ministry of health and family welfare, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Brajesh Pathak, has also advised the pharmaceuticals department to ensure the involvement of the health and family welfare ministry in the implementation.
Source: The Economic Times, May 08, 2012
NEW DELHI: The government has recently stopped giving permission to foreign companies and overseas investors to buy into Indian drugmakers till clear guidelines regarding foreign direct investment in the sector are finalised.
Source: The Economic Times, May 04, 2012
Mumbai: India is playing a dominant role in the US generic pharma space, having cornered over half the certified dossiers filed globally for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Drug companies from India filed 51% of the overall global applications, also called drug master filings (DMF), in the US market during calendar year 2011. DMFs are essentially approvals to supply complex raw materials to all generic manufacturers servicing the US market, which is the most lucrative of all global markets.
Source: Business standard, Apr 23, 2012
New Delhi: The domestic pharmaceutical market (IPM) grew 21.9 per cent to record sales of Rs 5,369 crore in March, compared to the year-ago period, going by an analysis done by market research firm AIOCD AWACS. Its latest market intelligence report suggests this was fuelled by exceptional growth in companies such as Mankind, Macleods and Micro Labs. Read the rest of this entry »
Source: The Economic Times, Apr 20, 2012
MUMBAI: Confusion sparked by the setting up of a new committee for drug approvals has led to a slide in the number of new medicines getting cleared even as millions of Indians struggle with diabetes and heart failures remain a major killer.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has shed its role as the sole approver of new drugs in the country after a new committee, set up by the health ministry, has taken over crucial approvals.
Source: The Economic Times, Apr 17, 2012
Aggressive marketing of drugs by pharmaceutical companies is equal to “ irrational use” that needs to be “penalized,” the steering committee on health headed by Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed has said.
The steering committee report submitted to the commission for the 12th five year plan says there is need for a mandatory code for identifying and penalizing unethical promotion on the part of pharma companies.
Read the rest of this entry »
Source: The Hindu Business Line, Mar 28, 2012
New Delhi: India has proposed joint ventures with Russian pharmaceutical companies to manufacture 500 drugs in Russia and supply them to markets in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Responding “positively” to the suggestion by the Indian Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, during a bilateral meeting, the Russian Minister of Economic Development, Ms Elvira Nabiullina, said, “ joint ventures are good idea. Pharma sector is a good example where we can cooperate.”
Source: Business standard, Mar 26, 2012
New Delhi: On Tuesday, a group of ministers (GoM) led by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar will examine the proposed National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP) prepared by the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.
The key issue is to vet the various price control mechanisms suggested by the ministry and other stakeholders. The group will decide whether the policy should be market-based or a system of exact cost plus profit for medicine price fixing. The extent of price control, whether restricted to the specific strengths of drugs mentioned in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) or on all strengths and combinations of NLEM, will be decided.
