Coronavirus set to affect supply of key medicines to city
| Date :13-Feb-2020 |
By Rajendra Diwe :
THE outbreak of Novel Coronavirus in China is set to affect supply of key medicines to India. Nagpur, too, is likely to face shortage of medicines for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, cancer and diabetes if domestic production is unable to cope with the demand. China is a supplier of about 70 to 80 per cent Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to India. APIs are a raw material used to make a pharmaceutical drug. India imports APIs from China and the Indian Pharmaceutical Companies convert these APIs into medicines or drugs. Theses drugs are branded medicines or branded generics which India exports to other countries. The shortage of APIs from China would also affect export. “Coronavirus and its impact in India will be a worrisome factor.
If domestic production, that accounts for 30 per cent of APIs, is unable to cope up, key medicine supply for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, cancer and even diabetes may get hampered. National health schemes can get affected,” said Ravleen Singh Khurana, Director of city-based Nitika Pharmaceuticals. The country is likely to witness shortage of essential medicines, rise in cost of medicines and it would also hamper the export of medicines from India. “Government of India has asked all state Food and Drugs Administrations (FDAs) to contact drug manufacturers and take stock of 58 crucial APIs,” Khurana said. A Maharashtra FDA officials said they have received directions from the DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) to inform about the quantity of APIs available with each local manufacturer.
“The process to reach out to manufacturers has begun,” the official confirmed. Maharashtra has 885 drug manufacturers, many of whom have confirmed that they had a stock of APIs for two months only. A retired FDA official blamed Indian drug manufacturers for this situation. “India was self-sufficient both in terms of APIs and drug formulations till the 90s. But the cheaper rates offered by China pushed several to import APIs over the last 15 years. As a result, many bulk drug manufacturing units in India were closed down as they started buying cheaper APIs from China,” he said. “China remains a major supplier of not just antibiotics but also Vitamin B12, B1, B6, and E to India. Even in the past we had faced a spurt in prices, and for some time imports were stopped from China.
For finished products we have a month’s stock right now. But if the situation continues, we need to do something,” said a manufacturer. The province of Hubei, where Novel Coronavirus was first reported in December, is a major hub of API manufacturers, apart from two other provinces in China. Since January, Hubei remains in a state of lockdown to limit the spread of the virus. Since a fortnight, domestic manufacturers said, imports of APIs from China have stopped. Prior to that the supply was slow because of the Chinese New Year and holiday season during December. Imports from other countries would escalate cost by 20-30 per cent for Indian manufacturers. “We will need government support, they would have to reduce import duty,” feels Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA).
Govt constitutes committee A HIGH-LEVEL committee constituted by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is contemplating restrictions on the exports of some crucial antibiotics and vitamins in light of the Coronavirus outbreak, said people in the know of things. Traders have been raising the prices of some bulk drugs for pharmaceutical companies amid the prolonged shutdown in China. The committee of experts formed by DoP comprises Joint Drugs Controllers, officials from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and executives from pharma lobby groups. The lobby groups - Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), and Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA) of India - are working with the government to determine the stock position with pharma companies.