Published on January 16, 2014
In the middle of fiscal period during April – October, FDI in the pharmaceutical sector took a leap by 86.5% to US$1.08 billion, over mergers and acquisitions of domestic drug makers by multinationals. According to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), during April – October 2012 FDI in drugs and pharmaceuticals was at $580 million. The government had evaluated the position and decided that the existing policy would persist with the circumstance, that ‘non-compete’ clause would not be allowed except in special conditions with the approval of the FIPB.
Most of the Gujarat-based pharma companies, small and big, have yielded to the pressure from retailers to offer old margins for the drugs, which have come under the Drug Price Control Order (D0PCO) 2013. Silverstreet Developers, a limited liability partnership firm with Sun Pharmaceuticals, had picked up a 1.41% venture in the Indian generic arm of Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo. According to market analysts, Silverstreet Developers had obtained the stake in Ranbaxy over the past two or three months.
In last few months tussle between Pharma companies and whole sellers got worsened. In yet another development the major companies like Torrent and Zydus had decided to offer old margins. This will retain their margins and will continue the functioning smoothly. Government had decided to retain 100 % FDI in pharma industry.
