Guest column : Can Indian generics move from blockbusters to biologics?

For generic dug manufacturers in India and elsewhere the number of blockbuster drugs that have recently come off patent has been a bonanza. But the product mix coming off patent over the next three years is dramatically different to the small molecule blockbuster drugs that dominated patent expirations in 2012. This presents a problem for them.

Guest column : Ponzi schemes in Indian pharma sales a real problem

Last week, a PharmaAsia News story reported sales malpractices at Mumbai-based drug maker Novartis India.

The article, which told of how representatives for Novartis’ market-leading diabetes treatment Galvus had fudged distributor receipts and bought back stock using their cash incentives to meet sales targets, may have shocked some.

But when MedicinMan posted this article on social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, it drew no surprise at all from pharmaceutical executives at all levels.

Guest column : Is Indian Pharma’s spectacular growth Bonanza or Bubble?

Indian pharmaceutical companies’ profits have grown hugely in recent years. Contrary to claims that India’s robust generics industry is driven by being ‘the drug store for the developing world’, overwhelmingly the growth of the industry is from sales to established country markets in the US and Europe. But predictions for continued growth may prove to be optimistic.

The Ranbaxy effect : My op-ed in The Indian Express

This morning’s Indian Express op-ed page carries my views on the impact of the Ranbaxy revelations on Indian generics. To read click here.  Just to clarify, I had attributed numbers on US imports of bulk drugs and finished medicines that I have cited in the column to Fortune magazine. The attribution appears to have fallen victim to the editing process so I thought fit to mention it here.

Pic sourced from http://www.ranbaxy.com

Guest column : Indian patent rulings and pharma strategies

The Indian government made several critical patent decisions over the past year.  Their impact on the Indian intellectual property (IP) landscape is still evolving, with important implications for IP rights, the global pharmaceutical industry, Indian consumers, and emerging economies.

The stakes are high and reflecting on the ways in which these decisions will shape the future of industry and innovation is essential. In this column, I consider the implications of these decisions for innovative pharmaceutical manufacturers and their strategies. 

India and drug safety : Latest PVig attempt showing promise

India seems to be making slow but sure progress towards reversing its abysmal track record in pharmacovigilance – medical jargon for monitoring the safety of marketed medicines. The country has reported 33,702 adverse drug reactions (ADRs),  side-effects arising from a host of marketed drugs,

India’s new drug pricing policy : will data be the stumbling block?

On December 7, India’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy 2012 was finally tabled in Parliament. Assuming that this policy does get rolled out irrespective of a Supreme Court hearing on drug pricing playing out in parallel, the cornerstone of the policy i.e.data may create some vexing issues.

India’s move to vanilla generics : Don’t hold your breath

By now, the news that India wants to move away from branded generics and encourage vanilla generics to bring down drug prices has gone around the world.  But all those who think a structural reform of the Indian drug industry is around the corner : stop. And breathe.

White knight : Takeda advance gives Advinus reprieve

Japanese drug maker Takeda has come to the rescue of the beleaguered  Advinus Therapeutics, a Tata group company, according to two persons familiar with the development.  Takeda has advanced in the region of

FDI in pharma : another punch

The issue of controlling foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian pharmaceutical sector continues to make headlines with various arms of the government putting forth their own formulas to tame the grasping foreign hand.

The Indian Express reports that the ministry of commerce under Anand Sharma would like all FDI proposals – including where foreign ownership is limited to 49 per cent – to be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). This is at odds with