Tag: Pharmaceuticals

India to amp up fever drugs export to China amid COVID surge

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India, one of the world’s biggest drug makers, is ready to step up exports of fever medicines to China as it reels from a spike in COVID-19 cases, the chairperson of India’s drug export body said on Thursday.

China’s sudden easing of strict COVID-19 rules earlier this month triggered a surge in demand for fever medicines and virus test kits on the mainland, leading to shops imposing limits on how much customers can buy and drugmakers ramping up production.

“Marketing queries are coming to drugmakers asking for quotes on ibuprofen and paracetamol,” Sahil Munjal, chairperson of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), told Reuters.

“Ibuprofen and paracetamol are facing a shortage in China at the moment, they are high in demand.”

China’s embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Also read: Nepal bans Ramdev’s Divya Pharmacy, 15 other Indian pharma companies

The Ministry of External Affairs said the country, one of the biggest makers of generic medicines in the world, was ready to help China.

“We are keeping an eye on the COVID situation in China,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a regular news briefing. “We have always helped other countries as the pharmacy of the world.”

Also read: India’s pharma exports record exceptional performance in 2021-22 despite global trade disruptions

India’s pharma exports to China accounted for just 1.4% of its overall exports in 2021/22, according to Pharmexcil’s latest annual report. The United States remains India’s largest destination for drugs exports.

Shares of Indian pharmaceutical companies have risen over the past few days on worries of a COVID-19 resurgence.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

These market watchers are excited about the pharma space – Here are their other near-term bets

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Market watchers like Anup Maheshwari and Ajay Srivastava are bullish about the pharma space because of the falling rupee rate. Maheshwari, who is the co-founder and CIO of IIFL Asset Management sees some interesting opportunities in the sector.

“We have a bit of a soft spot for pharma although it has not done very well. I think as a sector, it does tend to create long-term value. So within pharma, we are finding some interesting opportunities,” he said.

Ajay Srivastava, the CEO of Dimensions Corporate Finance Services believes that the sector is like a flower which blossoms once in 20 years.

“You need to catch it at once in a 20-year phenomenon,” he said.

“I think there are a lot of companies, which are very undervalued in the pharma space. Most companies have been valued in the single-digit piece kind of stock and they will gain tremendously from rupee dollar depreciation. There is no doubt about it,” Srivastava added.

In the last 20 years or 15 years, pharma has been the biggest loser in his portfolio in terms of return to capital employed. So the fact remains that the sector has underperformed.

According to Srivastava, the rupee-dollar is going to give the biggest kick to them just like it’ll give the kick to commodity companies no matter what you do.

He thinks the rupee dollar should give a clear 10-15 percent edge to all pharma companies no matter what the growth rate is.

Maheshwari is also focused on consumer discretionary space going forward. “Some of the consumer discretionary names look interesting,” he added.

He doesn’t have much exposure to the real estate space. “It is not an area that we focus much on in our portfolio for the simple reason that we struggle to find companies in that sector that are capable of delivering more than 15-20 percent return on equity,” he said.

Rising interest rates will incrementally impact demand in the real estate space, Maheshwari added.

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According to Maheshwari, two sectors in India matter a lot – Financials and IT makes up 50 percent of India’s wage bill. “Financials is doing quite well and things continue to be on a fairly good trajectory for financials. Financials remains one of the long-term sectors to – if you are investing in India, this has to be a core part of your portfolio,” he said.

Srivastava believes that themes like power transmission investment trusts, etc. have given phenomenal returns. So if those products – the newer ones – come to the market, they become better. “I know it’s less exciting. I know it is not the thing which gives you the kicks but if you want kicks go skydiving, equity markets perhaps is not the place,” he mentioned.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Cipla introduces HIV drug for children in South Africa that won’t need refrigeration

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Cipla — known for revolutionising the HIV market in Africa by introducing a drug for less than $1 a day — has introduced another drug in South Africa to treat the virus that attacks the body’s immune system. This time the drug is specifically for infants and children.

The company, in collaboration with the not-for-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases or DNDi, has introduced a 4-in-1 fixed-dose combination medicine. This means the drug contains 4 medications or antiretroviral treatments used to treat HIV.

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The drug is heat stable, which means it requires no refrigeration. Why is that important? Because many times, drugs that require refrigeration get wasted if there is no proper refrigeration facility or during transport without maintaining the right temperatures.

According to the company, the drug can be easily administered as it is sweet-tasting and contains granule-filled capsules that can be sprinkled over food or dissolved in a liquid drink.

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This drug contains the antiretroviral drug lopinavir. Until now, the only lopinavir-based treatment for babies and young children was a syrup, which had 40 percent alcohol and required refrigeration.

Lopinavir is a protease inhibitor and is widely used for the treatment of HIV and is also a potential candidate for the treatment of COVID-19. The other three treatments in the drug are abacavir, lamivudine, and ritonavir.

While this drug might not significantly contribute to Cipla’s profit and loss statement, it is an important step toward fighting the virus in a continent where the highest number of children under 15 globally have HIV.

A look at sub-Saharan Africa:

Worldwide, 2.78 million children and adolescents are living with HIV – 88 percent of them in sub-Saharan Africa – but only 54 percent have access to treatment, according to UNICEF.

“It is highly significant that this first regulatory approval of the 4-in-1 formulation is from a country (South Africa) with a high burden of HIV among children,” said Irene Mukui, head of HIV, DNDi.

The pharmaceutical company is deepening its presence in key markets of India and South Africa, among other economies of the emerging world, to make healthcare more affordable globally.

Also Read | Indian pharma market still underpenetrated, several companies can grow and expand: Sanford Bernstein

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wockhardt board approves plan to raise Rs 1,000 crore via rights issue

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pharmaceuticals firm Wockhardt Ltd on Thursday said its board has approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore through a rights issue. The objective of the issue is to meet the company’s financing needs for repayment of subordinated debt due, financing research and development initiatives and general corporate purposes, among others, permitted by law, Wockhardt Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

The board of directors in its meeting held on Thursday considered and approved the issue of equity shares by way of a rights issue to the existing shareholders of the company for an amount not exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, it added. Wockhardt further said its board has also authorized the Capital Raising Committee to decide on the terms and conditions of the issue, including the rights entitlement ratio, the issue price, record date, timing of the issue and other related matters.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Piramal Enterprises demerges pharma business

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Piramal Enterprises on Thursday said its board has approved a composite scheme of arrangement providing for the demerger of its pharmaceuticals business and simplification of the corporate structure to create two listed entities in financial services and pharmaceuticals.

The pharmaceuticals business will get demerged from Piramal Enterprises (PEL) and consolidate in Piramal Pharma, Piramal Enterprises said in a regulatory filing.

Now the demerger ratio is around four shares of Piramal Pharma for one share of Piramal Enterprises. Two subsidiaries will also be amalgamated with Piramal Pharma.

Now just to put it into perspective, the Piramal business in FY21 turnover was around 45 percent of sales and the pharma business revenue was around Rs 5,776 crore, EBITDA of around Rs 1,283 crore, margins at 22 percent.

Post demerger Piramal Pharma will be listed on the exchanges. No change in the shareholding pattern, so promoters will hold around 35 percent and investors 20 percent odd.

Piramal Pharma comprises of contract development and manufacturing which is around 62 percent of sales so majority of sales comes in from Contract Development & Manufacturing Pharmaceutical company (CDMO), complex hospital generics which is 29 percent of sales, consumer health business is 9 percent of sales and there is JV or joint venture with Allergan for ophthalmology.

One of the key things is they have cleared 36 US FDA inspections, 243 other regulatory inspections since FY12 successfully that is a feather in the cap for Piramal Pharma.

Since the Abbott deal, pharma revenue up 3.8x, EBITDA up around13x. EBITDA has improved from 7 percent to 22 percent. Remember, the company has also sold 20 percent to Carlyle in October 2020 as well. So, that is one investment that the street will look forward.

-With PTI inputs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Focus on better quality cos; include IT in portfolio: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mahesh Patil, chief investment officer (CIO) at Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company (AMC), on Tuesday, said that the focus appears to be back on better quality companies.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said, “The focus is coming back on larger companies. Companies which have got much more stability, sustainable, those stocks are likely to do well. So overall, the market looks to be fairly priced over here. I do not see any big upside from a very near-term perspective and it will be driven, to a large extent, by individual companies where the earnings outlook in the next couple of quarters is going to be good.”

On IT, Patil believes that valuations in the IT sector are looking good, even though they are on the higher side. He said, “There was a slight disappointment in some of the large IT names in terms of their topline growth and also on the margin front, but by and large, the visibility on the sector, over the next couple of years, in terms of growth looks fairly strong, the pipeline is good. So, this sector should continue to be steady and I do not see any major volatility in the earnings in this sector.”

He further said, “IT stocks should be part of your portfolio. It will give stability.”

According to him, banks with corporate exposure look good as the nonperforming asset (NPA) cycle may be coming to an end. “Corporate banks are looking fairly good at this point in time; while the credit growth is still very poor on the corporate side but the corporate NPA cycle is behind us,” said Patil.

He further said that one needs to be very selective in the pharma space and that he prefers domestic pharma stocks which deliver steady growth.

For the entire interview, watch the video

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Second COVID wave impact to be far lesser than first one: ICICI Pru’s Anand Shah

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Anand Shah, Head of PMS and AIF Investments at ICICI PRU AMC to discuss fundamentals of the market. He believes India will recover fast like other economies like the US, China, and EU and the economic impact of the second wave would be far lesser than the first wave

Talking about the second wave and its impact on economic activity in India Shah said, “As far as India, one needs to differentiate between the first wave and this current new wave for the simple reasons that there were many unknowns last time. This new wave notwithstanding that it has a huge intensity in pockets, first and foremost it is not pan India, second I don’t think we are going for a lockdown and to that extent, the economic impact would not be as significant as we had last time.”

On banks and the impact of second-wave on the asset quality Shah said, “In the very first round most of the banks have done very aggressive provisioning and frankly when we are at the end of the one year of the first lockdown or post the first wave I think the asset quality has end-up very well.”

“As a banking industry as a whole is fairly comfortable in terms of the excess provisioning they have made and to that extent, if at all we will have subsequent one-off NPAs coming out of the current second wave I think banks would be able to handle that. Asset quality deterioration will not be that large at this point of time.”

Speaking about opportunities in other pockets he said, “In our portfolios, we remain constructive on export facing or global commodities so we do like metals, we are fairly overweight there. We do like IT services, pharmaceuticals – all these three sectors we are constructive.”

He further added, “Beyond that I believe there is bottom-up stock-picking opportunities, there are a lot of midcaps and smallcaps which still offer value.”

Watch the accompanying video for more.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow