Central European markets to source drugs from India
GIREESH CHANDRA PRASAD; TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ MONDAY, JULY 17, 2006 01:57:27 AM]
NEW DELHI: Central European countries with relatively smaller pharmaceutical markets are now courting Indian drug makers to cut down the huge subsidies they provide to their healthcare system.
These countries subsidise 30% to 100% of their citizens’ health care costs through state sponsored health insurance.
Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are keen to source medicines and key ingredients from Indian companies, besides striking joint ventures and contract manufacturing deals. An industry-government delegation to these countries last week has done the groundwork for stepping up exports to these countries.
India now exports medicines worth $18m to the $2bn market in Hungary and drugs worth $20m to the $5bn market in Poland. Sources said that these countries are in dire need of inexpensive medicines for cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Sun Pharma, which has a presence in Hungary and Ranbaxy, which has a presence in Poland, joined the delegation of Mumbai’s Unique Pharma, Hyderabad’s Natco Pharma and Chennai’s Fourrts India (Laboratories) in buyer seller meets organised in these countries.
Sources said that the delegation proposed a fast track import registration procedure for Indian companies having manufacturing plants approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration. Right now, these countries follow the EU import registration procedure which takes at least two years to complete.
Hungary is also keen to strike a health co-operation agreement with India, for which a delegation of its pharma industry and government officials is being planned. Poland is also planning a delegation led by its Prime Minister later this year.
With the price erosion and entry of authorised generics (the practice of authorising a generics firm which is competing with Indian exporters to sell a US company’s block buster drug going out of patent) in the US market, Indian drug makers have been increasingly looking at opportunities in Europe these days.
So far, they have been mainly focusing on the top five European markets such as Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain. They collectively constitute a $90bn market, the second largest after the $180bn US market.
