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Indian Pharmaceutical Market Set to Gain from $80 bn Drugs Patent Expiry

January 15, 2009- With the news of 61 drugs worth US $ 80 billion going off patent at the US Patent and Trademark Office between 2011 and 2013, Indian pharmaceutical market is doing its homework for gaining maximum opportunities from patent expiry of some blockbuster drugs. When a patent expires, the manufacturer's monopoly over a pharmaceutical formulation gets over and affordable generic versions of the drug can be made and sold.

Prices too crash down in such a situation. Amar Lulla, Managing Director, Cipla said to Hindustan Times, “A chunk of this $80 billion (Rs 3.6 lakh crore) market will come to India, but with competition increasingly eroding margins, it waits to be seen what effect it would have on bottomlines." Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said at a meeting with heads of pharmaceutical companies, "With India's capacity to manufacture drugs at competitive prices, there is big opportunity here. The Government has already cleared the deck by streamlining and strengthening of regulatory framework with international credence."

Some of the drugs whose patents will expire include Diovan, used for treating blood pressure and heart disease; Seroquel and Zyprexa used for schizopheria and bipolar disorder; and Singulair for asthma. News Source:Yahoo News