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AGC Biologics, a global biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), has announced that it will partner with Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), a late-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, on large-scale GMP production of a critical component of Novavax’ coronavirus vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373. AGC Biologics will manufacture Matrix-M™, the adjuvant component of the vaccine, in order to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies.

NVX-CoV2373 is a stable, prefusion protein made using Novavax’ proprietary nanoparticle technology. AGC Biologics will optimize process development for scaled-up production of Matrix-M to significantly increase Novavax’ capacity to deliver doses in 2020 and 2021.

“We are quickly ramping up to successfully deliver this vital vaccine component to Novavax,” says AGC Biologics’ CEO Patricio Massera. “The urgency to help produce a vaccine to combat COVID-19 could not be higher.”

“AGC Biologics’ mission is to work side-by-side with our partners to produce life-saving and extending products,” says Mark Womack, CBO of AGC Biologics. “Partnering with Novavax to manufacture this vaccine component is an amazing opportunity to make a profoundly positive difference.”

“We have been impressed with AGC Biologics’ level of collaboration and commitment,” says Timothy J. Hahn, SVP, Process Technology at Novavax. “They are an important strategic partner in expanding our supply chain of adjuvant for NVX-CoV2373 and for other vaccines being developed at Novavax, including our recombinant seasonal influenza vaccine, NanoFlu.”

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Novartis announced updated results from the landmark COMBI-AD clinical trial, demonstrating that treatment with Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) and Mekinist® (trametinib) following the surgical removal of melanoma offers a long-term and durable relapse-free survival (RFS) benefit to high-risk patients diagnosed with stage III, BRAF-mutation positive melanoma1. Researchers reported that 52% (95% CI, 48%-58%) of patients treated with adjuvant Tafinlar + Mekinist were alive and relapse-free at five years.

Among patients in the study’s placebo arm 36% (95% CI, 32%-41%) were alive and relapse-free at the time of this analysis, generally consistent with typical melanoma relapse-free survival rates seen among patients with resected stage III disease without treatment. Consistent RFS benefit was observed across all AJCC 7 stage III subgroups.
Median RFS, or the length of time when 50% of patients are still alive and relapse-free, was not yet reached at the 5-year data cut-off for patients on Tafinlar + Mekinist treatment, suggesting long-term benefit of targeted therapy in the adjuvant (post-surgical) setting (NR; 95% CI, 47.9 mo-NR). Median RFS was 16.6 months for patients taking a placebo (95% CI, 12.7-22.1 mo). Treatment with Tafinlar + Mekinist reduced the risk of relapse or death by 49% compared to placebo (hazard ratio [HR] 0.51; 95% CI 0.42, 0.61)1.

“Our goal as clinicians is to give our stage III patients the best chance for relapse-free survival,” said Prof. Axel Hauschild, MD, Professor of Dermatology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. “Results from COMBI-AD show that adjuvant treatment with Tafinlar + Mekinist after surgical resection gives melanoma patients the chance for long-term relapse-free survival. Five years is a clinically and emotionally significant milestone for patients. Recurrent BRAF+ melanoma, once spread to other organs, can be more dangerous and difficult to treat. The durable, long-term results seen among patients in the COMBI-AD trial clearly point to the important role targeted therapy plays in the adjuvant setting.”

The COMBI-AD study results are drawn from a prospective analysis of 870 patients with BRAF V600-mutated melanoma treated with Tafinlar + Mekinist after their surgery. This study represents the largest collection of data and longest follow-up to date in this patient population treated with targeted therapy2. The findings were presented at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract #10001).

“The five-year survival mark is an important and predictive milestone for people with melanoma and the doctors who care for them,” said John Tsai, MD, Head of Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. “We see an almost 50% risk reduction in melanoma relapse or death in the COMBI-AD data announced today, and we believe patients will find this information helpful in choosing a treatment after surgery. We thank the patients and their families who participated in this long-term clinical trial. Their participation and commitment is helping the community learn how a BRAF-targeted therapy can reimagine outcomes for patients with resectable stage III melanoma.”

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PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Health Committee organized an interactive video conference of series on "Digital Health: The Future: Telemedicine-Where do We Stand Today" on 29th May 2020.

During the discussions with experts from hospitals, MCI, Industry, academia and the radiology and health insurance experts thanked the Govt for guidelines on Telemedicine making it legal for the doctors in India while demanding the Regulatory framework for Telemedicine for International patients as well. They also opined that with AI under supervision of the Clinicians, Telemedicine can extend health support to the rural patients and we could see 20-25% of healthcare being provided through Telemedicine
The eminent panellists of the webinar were Dr. N. Subramanian, Chairman, Health Committee, PHDCCI & Director, Medical Services, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Mr. Aditya Berlia, Co-Founder & Pro Chancellor, Apeejay Satya University, Dr. Hans Raj Baweja, Chairman, Ethics Committee, Medical Council of India, Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Founder & Chief Radiologist, Mahajan Imaging, Dr. Puneet Girdhar, Sr. Director & Spine Surgeon, BLK Super speciality Hospital, Mr. S K Mehra, Managing Director & CEO, Health Insurance TPA of India.

Dr. N. Subramanian, Chairman, Health Committee, PHDCCI & Director, Medical Services, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals welcomed all the panellist and said that telemedicine plays a very important role in our lives to reach out to everyone and it is expanding & getting better every year. The risk of NCDs are so high for the treating doctors that the awareness and prevention is the only way to avoid complications where telemedicine and AI play a major role to make the data available and stratifying the risks. It can also manage the algorithms in treating patients with high risk demographics where the Government has the access to real time data and the changing patterns of the disease. Dr. Subramanian advised young practitioners who are keen to adopt the telemedicine technology that it is very important to have certain amount of discipline and they should establish a relationship and trust with the patients esp. for incase of Telemedicine.

Dr Harsh Mahajan, Founder & Managing Director, Mahajan Imaging while briefing about the tele-radiology said that the computing and internet availability improves exponentially the effectiveness of Telemedicine as also reduces the cost drastically of healthcare delivery. He said we will be able to serve the underprivileged sections of the society and remote areas through Telemedicine. He further said that with the advent of Corona, telemedicine has become the necessity where technology helped us a lot to fight this crisis. He also told that telemedicine and AI make work easier and it will become indispensable in coming years but it has to be under supervision of a clinician. Answering to one of the questions from audience, Dr. Mahajan said that telemedicine is here to grow exponentially and serve the multiple purpose like diagnosis, training, education and serve the agenda of preventive measurement. He further added that apart from teleradiology, telemedicine can be used in digital pathology, dermatology, ophthalmology and many other segments.

Mr. Aditya Berlia, Co-Founder & Pro Chancellor, Apeejay Satya University said that the doctor to patient ration in urban area is around 1:10,000 and in rural area it is worst at 1:30,00,00 and this is a worldwide scenario. The Covid-19 has changed the patient & doctor psychology at large and 20-25% medical system will move to telemedicine in coming years. He also said that Covid 19 had given a massive boost to telemedicine and there is an urgent intervention needed from the regulatory part as there is a problem with the data collection part. He further added that in next one year there will be a tremendous use of telemedicine for quick follow-up consultations, consultations by patients who panic and 2nd opinion consultations for referral patients and if we are able to do this then it is a phenomenal achievement.

Dr. Hans Raj Baweja, Chairman, Ethics Committee, Medical Council of India said that there were lot of legal limitations we faced before Covid era as telemedicine is existing and practiced in other countries but never recognised in India. Its only due to this Corona pandemic on 25th March 2020 the telemedicine guidelines were finalised which says that every doctor in India can go on telemedicine platform in India. Explaining the key points of telemedicine guidelines, like mandatory patient consent, mandatory patient identity as it is difficult to identify the patient in audio consultations, taking of history & entering all the details in the prescription, Dr. Baweja said that it is mandatory for doctors also to introduce themselves at the time of consultation and only generic medicines should be prescribed.

Dr. Puneet Girdhar, Sr. Director & Spine Surgeon, BLK Super speciality Hospital said that in the past everyone knew about telemedicine but due to legal limitations, patient psychology and other complications very few were using it and now with the Corona Virus hitting changed even hospitals have come up with their individual telemedicine apps.

Mr. S.K. Mehra, Managing Director & CEO Health Insurance TPA of India said that there’s huge demand of Telemedicine among doctors in coming years. He said this is the right time to start and set some protocols & regulations, which will also help in the expansion of the Telemedicine. He said this concept will certainly help the senior citizens, where they require general consultation or normal follow up for the medicine. Mr. Mehra also explained about the existing insurance policies and the important aspects of telemedicine consultation coverage in the insurance.

While moderating the session Dr. Deep Goel, Senior Director, Dr. B L Kapur Memorial Hospital said that the mother earth is under repair and the social distancing will be the new normal in coming times.

Mr Vivek Seigell, Principal Director Health, PHD Chamber who moderated the session with Dr Deep Goel said that the recommendations and details of the discussions held will be sent to NITI AAYOG as policy inputs on various aspects of Telemedicine esp. for the consulting for International Patients.

Dr. Subramanian, Chairman, Health Committee, PHDCCI gave the Vote of Thanks and the webinar was attended by more than 100 delegates.

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COVID-19 positive individuals who are asymptomatic do not have the potential to infect others because they have a low “virus load” compared to those who are symptomatic, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reported by Bernama.

He, however, said that infectivity could occur two days before the affected individual showed symptoms.

“So, we need to differentiate that the ones without symptoms do not have any problems as there’s no infectivity. But we found that those with symptoms and two days before having those symptoms they could infect others,” he said at the daily press conference on COVID-19 on 31st May, 2020 in Malaysia.

He said that the first week of being symptomatic was when the virus was active enough to infect others, but if the individual was isolated for between eight to 10 days, or 14 days as is being done by the government now, the infectivity rate can be reduced to almost zero.

“As for those who are asymptomatic, perhaps they won’t be able to infect others within 14 days. But infection can happen two days before the symptomatic period. So, if we can isolate them we can break the COVID-19 chain of transmission,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said that tomorrow the Ministry of Health (MOH) would share its model regarding the projection for COVID-19 cases in the last one month, today and in the future.

“So for cases involving Malaysians, we found there was adherence to standard operating procedure (SOP) and when we comply with the SOP, it means the R-nought (RO) is less than 0.3 percent. (RO refers to the infectivity rate).

“But for non-Malaysians, if we minus the immigration detention depot and import cases, we find the RO is still about 0.3 percent and we are still monitoring daily the development among Malaysians and non-Malaysians,” he said.

He said what was important was for the MOH to focus on non-Malaysians so that they too complied with the SOP.

However, he said several constraints needed to be focused on, such as accommodation and environment of the foreigners, while employers also needed to play their role in ensuring the foreign workers complied with government directives as well as to take preventive measures and maintain cleanliness. (Bernama)

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The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has established stable cultures of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) from patients’ samples. Virologists at CCMB have isolated infectious viruses from several isolates. The ability to culture the virus in lab enables CCMB to work towards vaccine development and testing of potential drugs to fight COVID-19.

Novel coronavirus enters human cell by binding with the ACE-2 receptor on the cell surface. Not all cells have ACE-2 receptors. Human epithelial cells in the respiratory tract copiously express ACE-2 receptors, causing respiratory disease in the infected patient. However, we cannot grow human epithelial cells in lab. “Currently, primary epithelial cells generated from human origins do not grow for many generations in labs, which is key to culturing viruses continuously. At the same time, the labs that are growing the virus need an ‘immortal’ cell line”, says Dr Krishnan H Harshan, Principal Scientist, CCMB. They use Vero cells (kidney epithelial cell lines from green African monkey), which express ACE-2 proteins and carry a cell division that allows them to proliferate indefinitely.

But why cultivate a dreadful germ? If we culture a large amount of the virus and inactivate them, then it can be used as inactivated virus vaccine. Once we inject the inactivated virus, the human immune system triggers the production of germ-specific antibodies. One can inactivate the virus by heat or chemical means. The inactivated virus can trigger antibody response, but does not infect and make us sick as they cannot reproduce.

“Currently, primary epithelial cells generated from human origins do not grow for many generations in labs, which is key to culturing viruses continuously. At the same time, the labs that are growing the virus need an ‘immortal’ cell line”

For the development of antibodies or antidots, virus cultures are important. Inactivated viruses can trigger antibody response in other mammalian hosts in addition to humans. Various such hosts are currently under test for their efficiency of antibody response. Such antibodies generated in these non-human hosts can be purified, processed and collected. The antibodies can be used as therapeutic intervention for patients suffering from the infection. Such antibodies can trigger antiviral response upon injection into humans and have the potential of limiting the infection. Administering antibodies does not provide immunity like a vaccine does, but can be considered as anti-dotes against the virus.

These cultures may also be helpful in the process of drug screening. Potential drugs can be tested against the virus in a test-tube for their efficacy.

“Using the Vero cell lines to grow the coronavirus, CCMB is now in a position to isolate and maintain viral strains from different regions. We are working towards producing viruses in huge quantities that can be inactivated, and used in vaccine development and antibody production for therapeutic purposes”, says CCMB Director, Dr Rakesh Mishra. CCMB has also started testing potential drugs with other partners such as the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) using this viral culture.

“We hope that such systems are replicated at multiple research institutes and private companies to become a useful resource in the fight against this pandemic as well as for future preparedness”, said Dr Mishra.

- India Science Wire

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Roche announced European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval of a new, shorter two-hour OCREVUS® (ocrelizumab) infusion time, dosed twice yearly, for relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval is based on a positive opinion from the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

“The approval of a shorter, two-hour infusion time for OCREVUS in Europe, dosed twice yearly, will further improve the treatment experience for patients while also increasing capacity in healthcare systems,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “With more than 160,000 people treated with OCREVUS globally, a shorter infusion may assist both patients and healthcare providers to reach the ultimate goal of slowing disease progression in MS.’’

The approval is based on data from the randomised, double-blind ENSEMBLE PLUS study, which showed comparable frequency and severity of infusion-related reactions (IRRs) for a two-hour OCREVUS infusion time vs. the conventional 3.5-hour time in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (289 patients shorter infusion; 291 conventional infusion). The first dose was administered per the approved dosing schedule (two 300 mg intravenous (IV) infusions separated by two weeks) and the second or later doses (600 mg IV infusion) were administered over a shorter, two-hour time.

The primary endpoint of this study was the proportion of patients with IRRs following the first randomised 600 mg infusion (frequency/severity assessed during and 24-hours post infusion). The frequency of IRRs was comparable between those who received the two-hour infusion (24.6%) and those who received the 3.5-hour infusion (23.1%). The majority of IRRs were mild or moderate, and more than 98% resolved in both groups without complication. No IRRs were life-threatening, serious or fatal. No patients discontinued the study due to an IRR and no new safety signals were detected.

As previously communicated, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application for a two-hour OCREVUS infusion time and is expected to make a decision by 14 December 2020.

With rapidly growing real-world experience and more than 160,000 patients treated globally, OCREVUS has twice-yearly (six-monthly) dosing and is the first and only therapy approved for RMS (including relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and active, or relapsing, secondary progressive MS, in addition to clinically isolated syndrome in the U.S.) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). OCREVUS is approved in 90 countries across North America, South America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, as well as in Australia, Switzerland and the European Union.

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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA (Glenmark) has been granted final approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for Chlorzoxazone Tablets USP, 375 mg and 750 mg. This marks Glenmark’s first ANDA approval out of their new North American manufacturing facility based in Monroe, North Carolina.

According to IQVIATM,1 sales data for the 12 month period ending March 2020, the Chlorzoxazone Tablets, 375 mg and 750 mg market2 achieved annual sales of approximately $20.9 million*. Glenmark’s current portfolio consists of 163 products authorized for distribution in the U.S. marketplace and 45 ANDA’s pending approval with the U.S. FDA.

In addition to these internal filings, Glenmark continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of its existing pipeline and portfolio.

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Biocon Ltd an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals company, announced that its subsidiary Biocon Biologics has received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) approval for an extracorporeal blood purification (EBP) device CytoSorb® to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure.

Biocon Biologics has been granted licence for emergency use of CytoSorb in public interest by the Indian health regulator to treat COVID-19 patients who are 18 years of age or older. The licence will be effective until control of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Studies have shown that COVID-19 patients who develop serious complications experience a ‘cytokine storm,’ also known as Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), which leads to excessive inflammation, organ failure and death. The goal of CytoSorb therapy is to reduce cytokine storm and the deadly inflammatory response through blood purification so that this injury may be mitigated or prevented.

The Company has received approval from DCGI in Form MD-15 (Medical Device) for reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in order to control the ‘cytokine storm’ and benefit COVID-19 patients who are in a critical condition.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, said: “As a science-led organization, Biocon’s endeavour is to provide innovative solutions to patients to address their unmet needs. CytoSorb is an in-licensed unique device that reduces cytokine storm in critically ill patients and was introduced by Biocon in India in 2013.

Since then many patients undergoing organ transplant and sepsis treatment have benefitted from it.  DCGI approval for emergency use of CytoSorb for critical COVID-19 patients is an important example of how industry and regulators are working in tandem to urgently provide physicians and patients with new treatment options in the fight against COVID-19. CytoSorb will be an important addition to the Indian medical community’s arsenal against the deadly coronavirus.”

With more than 80,000* documented active coronavirus infections and over 4,000* deaths, India needs new therapies to reduce the severity of this disease.

CytoSorb is plug-and-play compatible with the most commonly used blood purification machines or pumps in the ICU used to treat COVID-19 patients, including hemoperfusion, hemodialysis, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines.

In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of CytoSorb for use in patients with COVID-19 infection.

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AstraZeneca is advancing its ongoing response to address the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, collaborating with a number of countries and multilateral organisations to make the University of Oxford’s vaccine widely accessible around the world in an equitable manner.

The Company has concluded the first agreements for at least 400 million doses and has secured total manufacturing capacity for one billion doses so far and will begin first deliveries in September 2020. AstraZeneca aims to conclude further agreements supported by several parallel supply chains, which will expand capacity further over the next months to ensure the delivery of a globally accessible vaccine. 

AstraZeneca received support of more than $1bn from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting in the fall. The development programme includes a Phase III clinical trial with 30,000 participants and a paediatric trial.

In addition, the Company is engaging with international organisations such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO), for the fair allocation and distribution of the vaccine around the world. AstraZeneca is also in discussions with governments around the world to increase access. Furthermore, AstraZeneca is in discussions with the Serum Institute of India and other potential partners to increase production and distribution.

AstraZeneca recently joined forces with the UK Government to support Oxford University’s vaccine and has progressed rapidly in its efforts to expand access around the world. The Company will supply the UK starting in September and is thankful for the Government’s commitment and overall work on vaccines.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, said: “This pandemic is a global tragedy and it is a challenge for all of humanity. We need to defeat the virus together or it will continue to inflict huge personal suffering and leave long-lasting economic and social scars in every country around the world. We are so proud to be collaborating with Oxford University to turn their ground-breaking work into a medicine that can be produced on a global scale. We would like to thank the US and UK governments for their substantial support to accelerate the development and production of the vaccine. We will do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available.”

AstraZeneca has now finalised its licence agreement with Oxford University for the recombinant adenovirus vaccine. The licensing of the vaccine, formerly ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and now known as AZD1222, follows the recent global development and distribution agreement with the University’s Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group. AstraZeneca has also agreed to support the establishment of a joint research centre at Oxford University for pandemic preparedness research.

A Phase I/II clinical trial of AZD1222 began last month to assess safety, immunogenicity and efficacy in over 1,000 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years across several trial centres in southern England. Data from the trial is expected shortly which, if positive, would lead to late-stage trials in a number of countries. AstraZeneca recognises that the vaccine may not work but is committed to progressing the clinical program with speed and scaling up manufacturing at risk.

The Company’s comprehensive pandemic response also includes rapid mobilisation of AstraZeneca’s global research efforts to discover novel coronavirus-neutralising antibodies to prevent and treat progression of the COVID-19 disease, with the aim of reaching clinical trials in the next three to five months. Additionally, the Company has quickly moved into testing of new and existing medicines to treat the infection, including CALAVI and ACCORD trials underway for Calquence (acalabrutinib) and DARE-19 trial for Farxiga (dapagliflozin) in COVID-19 patients.

Financial considerations
Today’s announcement is not anticipated to have any significant impact on the Company’s financial guidance for 2020; expenses to progress the vaccine are anticipated to be offset by funding by governments.

AZD1222
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, now known as AZD1222, was developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, working with the Oxford Vaccine Group. It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold (adenovirus) virus that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack COVID-19 if it later infects the body.

The recombinant adenovirus vector (ChAdOx1) was chosen to generate a strong immune response from a single dose and it is not replicating, so cannot cause an ongoing infection in the vaccinated individual. Vaccines made from the ChAdOx1 virus have been given to more than 320 people to date and have been shown to be safe and well tolerated, although they can cause temporary side effects such as a temperature, influenza-like symptoms, headache or a sore arm.

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A webinar on ‘Medical Devices and API sector: Challenges & Emerging Opportunities’ was held on 22nd May, 2020 at 11.30 am for business and trade collaboration between India and Japan in the post COVID-19 scenario. The webinar was organized by the Embassy of India, Tokyo in partnership with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt. of India.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan shared his valuable thoughts on the golden opportunity for India and Japan to further boost their relationship in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Dr. P. D. Vaghela, Secretary, Pharmaceuticals presented the sectoral view and the investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry in India. He also presented various initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote trade and business in the country. Mr. Navdeep Rinwa, Joint Secretary, Pharmaceuticals explained the Department’s schemes to promote manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices viz. Production Linked Incentive schemes and Promotion of Bulk Drug/Medical Devices Parks and requested the delegates to avail benefits of the schemes.

Pharmaceutical Traders Association and Japan Federation of Medical Devices Associations deliberated on the Post COVID-19 challenges & opportunities for Pharmaceutical & Medical Device sectors and its impact on the global supply chain and suggested that cooperation between the two countries can contribute to stabilize the supply-chain of especially APIs and Medical Devices. Representative of JETRO Chennai also shared insights on challenges and emerging opportunities in API sector and Medical Devices.

?Ms. Mona K C Khandhar, Minister (Economic & Commerce), EoI, Tokyo mentioned about the resilience and strength of the Indian economy and detailed on the stimulus & reform packages announced by the Government of India to address the COVID-19 crisis and to improve the investment environment. The advantages of Indian economy, FDI ecosystem & Japan specific facilitation were also mentioned.

Representatives of Japanese subsidiaries Nipro India Corp and Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt Ltd shared a detailed presentation and their experience about ‘Make in India’ program.

Representatives of major Indian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Associations presented the future growth opportunities and way forward for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industry in India.

?Representatives of State Governments of Gujarat, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Goa offered finer details of the investment opportunities in their respective States including package for incentives and taxation benefits, ease of doing business initiatives, land availability, infrastructural facilities, regulatory framework and invited Japanese companies for investing in their respective States.

?Representatives of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, Wockhardt, Sun Pharma, Panacea Biotec and other large number of Japanese companies also participated in the webinar as part of G2B and B2B networking.

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