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India heavily reliant on China for 12 essential medicines
Chethan Kumar,TNN | Jan 28, 2015, 12.29 AM IST
The 12 drugs are: paracetamol, metformin, ranitidine, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefixime, acetyl salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, ofloxacin, ibuprofen, metronidazole and ampicillin. Eight of these are on WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines.
BENGALURU: If Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India mantra has to be implemented in some sector first, it has to be in the pharma industry. The reason: In the past four financial years, India has imported from China bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) worth about Rs 38,186 crore. Most of these have gone into making essential drugs.
TOI had reported in November 2014 that national security adviser Ajit Doval had warned the government about over-dependence on China.
If submissions to the government by the department of pharmaceuticals are any indication, there is significant dependence on imports in the case of 12 essential drugs. "Approximately 80-90% of these (essential drugs) imports are from China," the department has said. "The decision is based on economic considerations."
The 12 drugs are: paracetamol, metformin, ranitidine, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefixime, acetyl salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, ofloxacin, ibuprofen, metronidazole and ampicillin. Eight of these are on WHO's Model List of Essential Medicines.
Documents of the department of pharmaceuticals show there has been a consistent growth in the import of drugs and APIs from China. In 2011-12, Rs 8,798 crore worth of bulk drugs and APIs were imported from China. This was Rs 11,000 crore in 2012-13, Rs 11,865 crore in 2013-14, and Rs 6,521 crore during April-September in 2014-15.
Sudhansh Pant, joint secretary, department of pharmaceuticals, told TOI from Delhi: "China out-prices India when it comes to APIs and bulk drugs. There is a need to see how to change this situation. A committee of secretaries under Dr VM Katoch (secretary, department of health research) is looking into the matter."
India is mulling a separate policy for APIs so as to create an environment for production of the same within the country. A lot of this policy will be derived from the Katoch committee's recommendations.
But India may to have find another way to reduce dependence before the policy bears fruit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/46035298.cms
Chethan Kumar,TNN | Jan 28, 2015, 12.29 AM IST
The 12 drugs are: paracetamol, metformin, ranitidine, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefixime, acetyl salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, ofloxacin, ibuprofen, metronidazole and ampicillin. Eight of these are on WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines.
BENGALURU: If Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India mantra has to be implemented in some sector first, it has to be in the pharma industry. The reason: In the past four financial years, India has imported from China bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) worth about Rs 38,186 crore. Most of these have gone into making essential drugs.
TOI had reported in November 2014 that national security adviser Ajit Doval had warned the government about over-dependence on China.
If submissions to the government by the department of pharmaceuticals are any indication, there is significant dependence on imports in the case of 12 essential drugs. "Approximately 80-90% of these (essential drugs) imports are from China," the department has said. "The decision is based on economic considerations."
The 12 drugs are: paracetamol, metformin, ranitidine, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefixime, acetyl salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, ofloxacin, ibuprofen, metronidazole and ampicillin. Eight of these are on WHO's Model List of Essential Medicines.
Documents of the department of pharmaceuticals show there has been a consistent growth in the import of drugs and APIs from China. In 2011-12, Rs 8,798 crore worth of bulk drugs and APIs were imported from China. This was Rs 11,000 crore in 2012-13, Rs 11,865 crore in 2013-14, and Rs 6,521 crore during April-September in 2014-15.
Sudhansh Pant, joint secretary, department of pharmaceuticals, told TOI from Delhi: "China out-prices India when it comes to APIs and bulk drugs. There is a need to see how to change this situation. A committee of secretaries under Dr VM Katoch (secretary, department of health research) is looking into the matter."
India is mulling a separate policy for APIs so as to create an environment for production of the same within the country. A lot of this policy will be derived from the Katoch committee's recommendations.
But India may to have find another way to reduce dependence before the policy bears fruit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/46035298.cms