The Medicine Box CNBC-TV18

An Indian pharma company has rebranded itself after almost three decades, 27 years. A firm that is ranked fourth in the Indian pharma industry, fifth in the US generics market via prescriptions and has been at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 by introducing one of the cheapest versions of Remdesivir and more.

The firm Cadila Healthcare (now known as Zydus Lifesciences) has many feathers on its hat, however, its challenges included the offtake of the COVID-19 vaccine and the long gestations and investments required to become an innovative company amid growing competition in the US.

To discuss this and more, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra caught up with Zydus Lifesciences’ managing director Sharvil Patel.

Patel shares the significance of the new name, the firm's plans to be defined as a global life sciences company with a focus on innovation and its generics business.

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Pharma industry’s Robinhood, Cipla is looking to increase its presence in the US market, the company’s MD and Global CEO Umang Vohra.

In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra talks to Vohra about Cipla’s plan to capture a larger share of the US market, the firm’s COVID-19 portfolio – from Tocilizumab to Remdesivir to Favipiravir, new products, growth outlook and more.

Cipla, which is India’s third largest pharma company and is present in more than 80 countries with over 46 manufacturing facilities, is looking to manufacture complex drugs and injectables in respiratory and cancer segments, Vohra said.

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Torrent, an over 60-year-old Indian pharma company, the flagship company of the Torrent Group, is most recognised for its strong domestic focus. It is the eighth largest player in India, with around 40 percent of its revenues from the domestic market.

It has strengthened its presence with acquisitions in the past 10 years such as buying Elder Pharma’s domestic business in 2014 for Rs 2000 crore and Unichem’s domestic business in 2017 for Rs 3600 crore. Domestic market brands include Shelcal, Unienzyme and Nebicard.

In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra gets in conversation with Torrent Pharma’s ED Aman Mehta to know more about the company’s outlook for growth on the domestic as well as the global front.

The company expects underlying domestic growth in double digits whilst seeing quarterly blips. Cardiology is a focus area for the company, which is ranked second in the cardiac segment and expects to grow in double digits.

One of its key brands, Shelcal has shown robust growth in the past few years with a focus on newer extensions in the brand.

Outside of India, the company is looking at remediation measures for plants impacted by USFDA issues and anticipates a 10 percent price erosion in the US. The company has also recently entered newer markets such as Mexico.

Overall, it expects margins to recover to 28-30 percent and is looking at mid sized acquisitions.

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On this episode of The Medicine Box, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra gets in conversation with Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, head of Fortis Hospital, to discuss business returning to normal post-COVID-19, medical tourism, long COVID and more.

Dr Raghuvanshi said the occupancy figure is expected to go to 70 percent within a month or two.

He also mentioned that there is a well-identified clinical entity of long COVID-19, which is a post-COVID syndrome in which the effects of the virus linger on for weeks or months after a person has tested positive. Most hospitals have opened post-COVID-19 clinics, he said and added that mental health and chronic illness are areas that could see more virtual consults.

Dr Raghuvanshi also discussed whether medical tourism will pick up in the near future and whether healthcare verticals such as home health and telemedicine are here to stay.

He also talked about rising competition in the diagnostic space and what it means for Fortis's diagnostic arm SRL Diagnostics.

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Even as India is hailed as the ‘pharmacy of the world’ for providing generic medicines and vaccines to nations across the globe, much remains to be done on the research and development and innovation front. But what does it take to become leaders in innovation, how can India replicate the generics feat in innovative drugs?

In this episode of The Medicine Box season 5, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra catches up with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories' (DRL) co-chairman and MD, GV Prasad, who believes India has the potential to become a leader in innovation too.

According to Prasad, innovation can not be seen as a natural progression from generics as the skills innovative companies require are different. Such firms need to make highly concentrated bets and therefore, the risk appetites are different as against makers of generic drugs, he said.

DRL’s MD pointed to financing as a huge challenge for innovation, which requires multiple factors to fall in place. “Innovation is a long-term game, sometimes takes decades,” he added.

Prasad said early-stage innovation is thriving in India and as confidence builds, Indian companies will invest in Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials.

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India’s pharma market, which comprises chronic and acute medication, is poised for growth. The domestic market grew from $17 billion in FY17 to $21 billion in FY21.

In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast season 5, CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra speaks to Nikhil Chopra, the CEO of JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, about how big the chronic and acute market is in India, the competition from generic medicines, and the pharma firm’s plans for the near future.

According to Chopra, consumer awareness about wellness and immunity has risen in the past 24 months, the majority of which includes the COVID-19 pandemic period, he said.

Acute therapy, which includes anti-infectives, gastro, vitamins, etc, saw a decline during the period as more people were indoors and hence fewer caught infections. Now, given a gradual return to normalcy, besides recovery in acute therapy, Chopra believes chronic therapies, which include medication for cardiovascular, metabolic diseases, etc., could grow and beat the domestic market growth.

JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd generates 49 percent of its revenue from the domestic market and has outperformed the industry growing 14 percent in FY21 against the industry growth of 4 percent. The CEO said the company is beating the industry due to strong brands in the Indian market. And, it is looking to improve its ranking from its current 27th position in the domestic market.

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