Pharma News, August And September 2017, Highlights Pill

Govt proposal to scrap loan licensing in draft pharma policy faces flak: The draft pharma policy’s plan to do away with loan licensing would lead to revenue loss for SMEs, disrupt the supply chain and make installed capacities redundant, says industry. IDMA said that more than 40% of drug production is generated through loan licensing. The manufacturing plant offering loan licences is also subject to approval from regulatory authorities on quality adherence and hence quality should not be any concern for the government.
India’s proposed pharmaceutical policy, if implemented in the current form, may have a negative impact on growth and profitability of the industry due to continued emphasis on price control, cap on trade margins and discontinuation of loan licensing or third-party manufacturing, industry officials and analysts said.
The department of pharmaceuticals is understood to have moved a proposal to effectively wrestle the powers of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority – India’s drug pricing authority . Paragraph 19 of the DPCO allows the pricing authority to fix or revise the ceiling price or retail price of any drug which it deems necessary for the interest of the public in case of any extraordinary circumstances. Controversy first erupted over NPPA’s use of Para 19 in 2014 after the authority fixed the prices of as many as 108 non-scheduled cardiovascular and anti-diabetes medicines or drugs not under the National List of Essential Medicines after noting huge “inter-brand price differences”
Pharma giant Novartis names Indian-origin Vas Narasimhan as CEO. Narasimhan, a Harvard-trained medical doctor, is currently global head of Drug Development and chief medical officer of the company.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Samsung BioLogics has entered into a strategic long-term manufacturing agreement for Tildrakizumab. The approximate value of the contract will be USD 55.5 million. According to the agreement, Sun Pharma has appointed Samsung BioLogics to manufacture Tildrakizumab, an investigational IL-23p19 inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.
Israeli pharmaceutical company NeuroDerm has been sold to Japanese giant Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for $1.1 billion in cash, the firm announced Monday, in one of the biggest-ever purchases of an Israeli firm outside the high-tech field.
The Competition Commission has dismissed allegations of unfair business practices made against pharmaceutical firm Sanofi India with respect to supply of medicines.
Yamuna Expressway Industrial development authority (YEIDA) has decided to carve out a dedicated sector to set up a pharmaceutical hub.
Officials said the pharma hub to be developed in Sector 33 is expected to create around 40,000 jobs
Piramal Enterprises has plans to introduce more products going forward and it is looking to expand the presence of its pharma vertical in strong global markets such as the US, Europe and Japan. Europe and North America contribute over 70% of the company’s revenue from pharmaceuticals business.

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) held its fifth annual HR summit The participants were drawn together to discuss this year’s theme ‘3D – Future of Pharma’ in the context of the growing importance and impact of diversity, digitalization and design thinking in brands.
Russia’s Chelyabinsk region is seeking proposals from Indian pharmaceutical companies looking to set up manufacturing units there with a local partner.
While some manufacturers are eyeing the prospect of a local production facility as it would translate into easier and greater access to Russia — the largest market in the Central and Eastern Europe region — they are unlikely to move fast for want of more clarity.
Reflecting the global interest in the South Korean pharma market, CPhI Korea 2017 will see a 13% rise in the number of exhibitors, in addition to a more than doubling of overseas buyers since 2015, the show will co-locate with ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh and Health Ingredients Korea
This surge in international companies wanting to partner in Korea reflects a flourishing South Korean pharma economy, which, in recent years, has become the 3rd largest pharma region in Asia, with a forecasted growth from $18.6 billion in 2016 to $20.4 billion in 2020
The proposed regulation, Essential Commodities (Control of Unethical Practices in Marketing of Drugs) Order 2017, is expected to be notified soon. This is a welcome development, particularly in India where patients and their families have to bear most medical expenses.
The proposed regulation prohibits companies from offering doctors cash, gifts and paid vacations.
China’s Fosun Group has decided to acquire a lower stake of 74% in India’s Gland Pharma Ltd, which makes the transaction eligible for automatic approval. Its earlier bid for an 86.1% stake has gathered dust for over a year waiting for government approval. Existing FDI (foreign direct investment) guidelines specify automatic approval for investments up to 74%, as long as preconditions such as maintaining research expenditure and production volumes are met.
CPhI released the results of its 2017 India Pharma Market Report. The findings identified a two-tier manufacturing market and predict an increase in acquisitions by Indian companies, including an improvement in the international reputation of Indian-made pharmaceuticals.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), India’s fair trade regulator, has locked its sights on unfair practices in the country’s multi billion-dollar pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors, calling for proposals from agencies to study the nature and magnitude of the problem. The decision comes amid concerns of a continued nexus between companies, doctors and hospitals that keeps patients from accessing high quality, affordable treatment here.
The proposed study is expected to analyse the referral pattern of hospitals and medical practitioners as well as the tie-ups and “networking” amongst various stakeholders in the healthcare sector. It would be confined to the regions of Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad and Noida