Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Apr 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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Industry & Economy
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Pharmaceuticals Sharp rise in Pen-G import price hits antibiotics makers G. Naga Sridhar Hyderabad, April 2 A sharp increase in the import price of Penicillin-G, a building block for many key antibiotics, has become an issue of serious concern for drug manufacturers in the country. The price of Pen-G, which is being imported from China by Indian antibiotics manufacturers, has grown more than 100 per cent from $7 per BU (a global measuring unit for Pen-G) to $16/BU in the last one month, Mr M. Narayana Reddy, President, Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA) of India, told Business Line. About 500 tonnes of Pen-G is being imported per annum from China to meet the needs of the domestic antibiotic drugs manufacturers. “The import prices of Pen G are known for their volatility for the last five years. However, in the recent past, this has been the largest hike,” Mr Reddy said. The exact cause of the hike is not yet established by the Indian importers. “The doubling of price in just one month defies logic. There could be many reasons, including a possible carteling by the Chinese exporters,” he observed. The Indian drug-makers have no option but to import the Pen-G irrespective of the price hike as the domestic production is nebulous and 95 per cent of the industry needs are met by imports. The non-viability of a long-term production of Pen-G is behind the inevitability of imports from China. Though some companies such as Alembic and J K Pharmacem were into production of Pen-G, many could not compete with the generally low-priced (on a comparative basis) imports from China. “The domestic production of Pen-G has become uncertain as it is directly proportional to the rise/fall in import price from China,” the BDMA official said. More Stories on : Pharmaceuticals
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