What Indian pharma can learn from the US price hike probe – Business Today
0
The US Congress move to investigate the price rise in certain generic drugs by 14 companies, including those from India, has important lessons for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Indian drug companies need to realise that they operate in price-sensitive markets – be it India or the US where the demographic of the Baby Boomer generation is witnessing record numbers signing up for MediCare and the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).
Therefore, better earnings will only have to come from focus on building internal efficiencies and process innovations. The investigation, though still at a preliminary stage of seeking responses and details from companies, cannot arguably be seen as an anti-India lobby at work, since only three of the 14 companies that have been issued letters (seeking reasons for the price hike in the last one year) are Indian.
Since majority of the firms are headquartered in the US and only a couple of them elsewhere, there is little likelihood of this being seen as a move directed against Indian firms. In certain cases (Doxycycline Hyclate, for example), the products cited were in deep shortage conditions and the market responded with relatively dramatic price increases. This would raise eyebrows in any country, more so in the United States today, where the Affordable Care Act is under siege.
Read more – Business Today