: Pharma industry swallows ‘bitter pill’ #IndiaNEWS #India Hyderabad: The Indian pharmaceutical sector was one of the worst-hit sectors due to the Covid pandemic. The industry faced twin shocks

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Pharma industry swallows ‘bitter pill’ #IndiaNEWS #India
Hyderabad: The Indian pharmaceutical sector was one of the worst-hit sectors due to the Covid pandemic. The industry faced twin shocks of raw material shortage as well as an increase in prices of primary raw material for drugs- active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). As the factories in China were hit by lockdown, India faced challenges to maintain continuous supply of APIs.
However, Telangana is supporting the industry by providing high incentives and strong infrastructure to cater to the global demand for APIs. Telangana, the bulk drug capital of India, accounted for 40 per cent of the country’s total bulk drug production. Telangana is home to around 800 life sciences companies and employs about 1. 20 lakh people. The production mainly takes place in Hyderabad and surrounding districts of Rangareddy, Medchal, and Sangareddy, according to a report titled Impact of the pharma industry on the Indian economy in the post-Covid era, brought out by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) and KPMG.
As the factories in China were hit by lockdown, India faced challenges to maintain continuous supply of APIs. Nearly 70 per cent of all APIs are imported from China, the report added. China is the global leader in producing and exporting antibiotics including penicillin, cephalosporins, and macrolides. The dependence is substantial on imports, especially for antipyretics, cardiovascular, respiratory and diabetes medicines. In the case of paracetamol and a few other major antibiotics, India primarily relies 100% on imports from China.
From April-September 2021, China accounted for more than 65% of the total bulk drugs and drug intermediates imported by India. This high import dependency is due to the availability of APIs and bulk drugs in China at low prices. Any disruption in Chinas bulk drugs market has a direct influence on the Indian pharma industry.
In terms of prices, APIs like paracetamol increased 127 per cent to . 9 per kg from . 8 earlier. Propylene glycol increased 187% (to $ 5. 5 from . 92), Ivermectin 189% (to 7 from 8), doxycycline 100% ( to 5. 3 from . 7). Prices of some of the vital drugs such as Nimesulide increased by 189 per cent, from Rs 450 to Rs 1,300 per kg between January and April 2020. Prices of 6APA, a chemical used to manufacture antibiotics, increased by more than 360 per cent, from Rs 400 to Rs 1,875 per kg.
On average, the industry was facing a price rise of around 20-700 per cent in APIs imported from China. Furthermore, pharma companies increased the prices of the products which led to a shortage of pertinent medicines. Medicines that helped to mitigate the Covid effect attained a substantially higher price, driven by the demand surge.

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