“Given the popular uptake of universal health coverage reforms elsewhere in Asia, the Feb 4 elections may be a tipping point for health in India. For example, in 2012, Joko Widodo was elected Governor of Jakarta. He launched popular UHC … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Up
Moving Up The Generic Pharma Value Chain
June 2014 underscores a significant development for the generic drug exporters of India. Much-delayed and highly expected launch of generic Diovan (Valsartan) is now on its way, as Ranbaxy has reportedly received US-FDA approval to launch the first generic version of this blood pressure drug … Continue reading
Supreme Court Suspends New Drug Trials in India…Time to Shape Up?
On September 30, 2013, with a damning stricture to the Drug Regulator, the Supreme Court, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the NGO Swasthya Adhikar Manch, stayed approvals for 162 applications for local Clinical Trials (CTs) of new … Continue reading
Humongous Pharma Corruption: China Ups The Ante…and India?
In the ‘pharma bribery’ related scandal in China, many postulated that the Chinese Government has cracked down selectively on Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to extend unfair business advantages for its local players. Media reports of September 2013 indicate that in all … Continue reading
Buying Physicians’ Prescriptions in Cash or Kind: A Global (Dis)Order?
Recently a European business lobby reportedly raised its voice alleging pharma Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in China have been ‘unfairly targeted’ by a string of investigations into bribery and price-fixing cases despite their generally ‘strong legal compliance’ and has suggested that China … Continue reading
Government Ups the Ante for More Compulsory Licenses in India
On January 12, 2013, one of the leading dailies of India first reported that in a move that is intended to benefit thousands of cancer patients, Indian Government has started the process of issuing Compulsory Licenses (CL) for three commonly … Continue reading
First ever ‘Code of Pharma Marketing Practices’ by the Government: A strong signal to “Shape Up”!
After a protracted debate on the alleged ‘unethical marketing practices’ by the pharmaceutical companies, in May 2011, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) came out with a draft ‘Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCMP)’ to address this issue squarely and … Continue reading
Abbott – Piramal deal: the way future is expected to shape up
In my view, these are still very early days for such acquisitions of large domestic Indian pharmaceutical companies by the Global Pharma majors to gain momentum in the country. However, there is no doubt that in the near future, we … Continue reading