Page 151 - CW E-Magazine (2-7-2024)

Pharmaceuticals

of paracetamol API have come down to ever, if there is a rise in imports now, it formulations, surgicals, and vaccines) in
Rs. 250 per kg from Rs. 600. During the may be because local formulation players 2023-24 at 43.45 percent. As for bulk
pandemic these prices were Rs. 900 per are stocking up,” they said. Industry drugs PLI, cumulatively, till December
kg. Prices of APIs of some antibiotics insiders agree China tends to slash prices last year, Rs. 3,586-crore was invested
like meropenem are down to Rs. 45,000- of certain chemicals and key starting under the scheme, which has an outlay
50,000 a kg from Rs. 75,000-80,000 a materials whenever there is growth in of Rs. 8,500-crore. Production or sales
few months ago. production in India. of bulk drugs under PLI in FY24 (up
to December) were Rs. 309-crore, and
According to industry observers, India is highly dependent on China cumulatively around Rs. 844-crore of
with the rise in the local production for bulk drugs. According to the data sales has happened for bulk drugs
of APIs thanks to the PLI scheme, the from Pharmexcil, China had the highest produced under the scheme. The Centre
demand for some APIs from China has share in imports of pharmaceutical targets sales of Rs. 46,400-crore of
reduced leading to a price fall. “How- products (which include bulk drugs, bulk drugs under PLI.

UNFAIR PRACTICES
Alchem accused of pharma price fi xing by EU watchdog

European Union (EU) antitrust regu- a cartel with other drugmakers involving from restricted access to affordable
lators has accused Gurugram-based the ingredient N-Butylbromide Scopol- medicines,” EU antitrust chief Ms. Mar-
Alchem International of taking part in amine/Hyoscine (SNBB), which is used grethe Vestager said in a statement. The
a pharmaceutical cartel to fi x prices of to make the abdominal antispasmodic Commission last year fi ned Alkaloids
a key ingredient, which could lead to a drug Buscopan and its generic version. of Australia, Alkaloids Corporation,
hefty fi ne for the company. Boehringer, Linnea and Transo-Pharm a
The watchdog said Alchem and other total of Euro 13.4-mn ($14.5-mn) for their
The European Commission, which cartel members coordinated to fi x the involvement in the cartel. C2 Pharma
acts as the EU competition watchdog, minimum sales price and to allocate escaped a fi ne because it had alerted the
said it had sent a statement of objections quotas, adding that it may also have regulator about the cartel. Companies
to Alchem, laying out its charges. The exchanged commercially sensitive infor- found guilty of EU antitrust violations
Commission suspects Alchem of breach- mation with competitors. “As a result, risk fi nes as much as 10% of their global
ing EU antitrust rules by participating in European consumers may have suffered annual turnover.

EXPANSION
Jubilant subsidiary to boost PET radiopharma

manufacturing in US

Jubilant Radiopharma, a part of Jubi- radiopharmaceutical therapies. The growth facturing sites to nine and the overall
lant Pharma, has announced that its Radio- in the PET imaging market is fuelled by radiopharmacy (PET/SPECT) network to
pharmacies division is investing $50-mn to new products such as diagnostic agents 52 sites, positioning Jubilant’s radiophar-
expand its Positron Emission Tomography indicated for PET of prostate-specifi c macy network as the second largest in the
(PET) radiopharmaceutical manufacturing membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions US. Commenting on the development,
facilities by adding six sites in strategic in men with prostate cancer and novel Mr. Harsher Singh, CEO, Jubilant Radio-
locations throughout the US. The new diagnostics that reliably visualise β-amyloid pharma business said, “This investment
PET radiopharmaceutical manufacturing neuritic plaques for more personalised shall help us meet increasing demand of
facilities are expected to be operational patient management in adult patients with novel PET products from our customers.
within 24 months. cognitive impairment who are being eva- With a much stronger PET manufactur-
luated for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and ing network, we also expect to secure
The US radiopharmaceutical industry other causes of cognitive decline. long-term contracts with leading PET
is poised to grow from $5-bn in 2023 radiopharmaceutical manufacturers. We
to $20-bn in 2030 due to the increasing This investment will expand the com- remain committed to improve patient
demand of PET imaging and advanced pany’s PET radiopharmaceutical manu- lives through nuclear medicine.”

Chemical Weekly July 2, 2024 151

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