With no let-up in coronavirus cases in China, the Niti Aayog on Wednesday held a meeting with pharma industry to discuss the impact of disruption in supplies of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) while a Government panel has suggested a ban on export of the 12 APIs
and formulations, including antibiotics, such as Choramphenicol, Neomycin, Metronidazole and Vitamins B1, B12, B6 along with progesterone, among others.
India has a high dependence on China for fermentation-based APIs and intermediates.
In the meantime, the third and final batch of 406
inmates quarantined at the ITBP facility here after being evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan was discharged after being declared free of coronavirus by the doctors.
Sources said Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant had a meeting on Wednesday which was attended by Pharmaceutical Department Secretary PD Vaghela and Biocon Chairperson and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, among others to discuss hosts of measures aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of APIs to reduce dependence on imports of the APIs from China.
“Fruitful, constructive & positive meeting with captains of industry in pharmaceutical sector to discuss the options for domestic manufacturing of critical APIs on which India is import dependent. Consensus arrived at on a range of policy measures for creating ecosystem in India,” Kant said in a tweet after the meeting.
According to the sources, Kant told industry captains that they should try to become globally competitive to beat China that accounted for 67.56 per cent of the total imports of bulk drugs and drug intermediates at USD 2,405.42 million to India in 2018-19.
Zydus Group Chairman Pankaj Patel had on Tuesday said that the prices of the key pharmaceutical ingredients could rise if the coronavirus situation in China does not improve soon.
The Government committee formed to monitor supply of raw materials for drugs from China has recommended restrictions on exports of 12 APIs and formulations in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, according to an official communication.
In a letter to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Deputy Secretary at Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry MK Bhardwaj sought restricting exports of the 12 APIs and formulations.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals had formed a committee under the chairmanship of joint drug controller, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) that has been closely monitoring supply of APIs and intermediates which are imported from China and effect of the coronavirus epidemic in the country on their supply to India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Tuesday met the representatives of various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, electronics and IT hardware, solar, auto, surgical equipments, and paints, to review the situation following the outbreak of the deadly virus in China.
She had said the Government would soon announce measures to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the domestic industry.
There has been no supply from the neighbouring country for the past 20-25 days, mainly due to Chinese New Year holidays, sources had said. Companies have been maintaining 2-3 months inventory of these APIs and intermediates, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) Secretary General Sudarshan Jain had earlier said.