Online doctors discovery platform Practo has aquired Insta Health Solutions, hospital information management solution (HIMS) for $12 million.The acquisition will help accelerate Practo’s Partner Programme that is designed to enable HIMS providers around the world to integrate with hospitals. Insta was one of the first few partners to come onboard on this programme.“This is the third of several acquisitions we’ve been evaluating as we continue our mission to help simplify and digitize healthcare around the world and make Practo your health app”, said Shashank ND, Founder & CEO, PractoInsta will operate as a separate division and will continue to be led by Ramesh Emani, Founder & CEO, Insta Health. Ramesh has over 24 years of experience in building strong software and product teams across various verticals at Wipro. Prior to founding Insta about 7 years back, he served in various capacities at Wipro including CTO of Wipro Technologies. His last position in Wipro was as President of Telecom and Product Engineering solutions, where he was responsible for handling the world's largest third party engineering services group.“We chose Practo over some other options as we felt we can together offer superior, comprehensive and integrated solutions for all participants in the healthcare ecosystem across patients, doctors and healthcare providers. Insta will benefit from Practo’s expertise in mobile technology and their geographic and global presence,” said Ramesh Emani, Founder & CEO, Insta Health.(BW Online Bureau)
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Drugmaker Abbott Healthcare is challenging West Bengal's accusation that a sample of the company's cough syrup contained excessive levels of codeine, the second multinational to question India's regulatory testing regime in recent months. Whether the sample of Abbott's popular "Phensedyl" was a genuine product or a fake has not been established, but the suspect batch of 80,000 bottles has not been recalled. The state laboratory in West Bengal first raised the alarm last November. The previously unreported case underlines the weakness of India's unwieldy and poorly resourced drug and food regulatory system, the uncertainty it creates for foreign and domestic companies operating there and the potential risk to consumers. Abbott Healthcare is a unit of U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories also has a listed subsidiary in India, Abbott India Ltd. Three months ago, Nestle was forced to withdraw its Maggi instant noodles from Indian shelves because the food safety authority banned the snack after its tests showed excess lead. A court later overturned the ban in a partial victory for the Swiss food giant, but the allegations hurt the company's reputation and that of the country's regulators, who operate with few staff and poorly equipped facilities. In the latest dispute, the laboratory found that a sample of Phensedyl contained more than twice the labelled amount of codeine, according to several state drug officials and correspondence between regulators and Abbott seen by Reuters. Phensedyl sales are estimated to be more than 3 percent of Abbott's $1 billion India revenue. The sales are dwarfed by Abbott's global annual sales of over $20 billion, but, as the Nestle case shows, fallout from safety scandals is unpredictable. The excessive codeine, an opium derivative, would violate Indian drugs law. It triggered a "show cause" notice against Abbott, which was sent in March by the drug regulator in Himachal Pradesh, where Phensedyl is manufactured. In its response in late April, Abbott denied the allegations and urged regulators to not take any action. Abbott said it had found nothing unusual in its own and third party testing of a retained sample from the same batch of Phensedyl. The company also asked regulators to give it more information about the source of the suspect sample and the manner in which it was collected, so that it could establish whether it was genuine and proper process was followed. "We are awaiting response from the authorities," the company said in answer to Reuters questions. Drug SeizureThe original test was carried out by West Bengal after Phensedyl bottles were seized near the border with Bangladesh, said Samit Saha, a state drug inspector involved in the case. Codeine-based cough syrups are banned in Bangladesh, and smuggling is rife as people profit from higher prices there compared to India. According to a copy of the inspector's report, the sample contained 21.37 mg of codeine per 5 ml dosage, instead of 10 mg specified on the label. Saha said two other samples from different batches, however, showed normal codeine levels. Excessive consumption of cough syrup with high levels of codeine can lead to health implications such as sedation, behavioral changes and drug dependence, said Amitabh Parti, a doctor at Fortis Memorial Research Institute. In February, West Bengal listed the potentially tainted batch as "not of standard quality" in a monthly publication. The bulletin, which is posted on the regulator's website, is supposed to alert consumers and pharmacies in the state to suspect drugs. But the West Bengal drug controller, C. M. Ghosh, said he does not have the resources to follow it up. States Of ConfusionNavneet Marwaha, the drug controller in Himachal Pradesh, said in an interview that Phensedyl, which accounts for about a third of the Indian cough syrup market, is often copied by counterfeiters. He said Abbott's stocks of codeine were accounted for. "They (Abbott) are saying 'show us the sample so we can see whether it is genuine.' They have not been provided with the sample," Marwaha said. He added that it was up to West Bengal to provide the information to Abbott. West Bengal's Ghosh said it was Himachal Pradesh's prerogative and the company can only challenge the test's findings at a central government drug lab with a court's permission. Safety breaches and scares are common in India. According to a 2012 parliamentary report, nearly one in 22 locally produced drug samples is of sub-standard quality in India. India has just 1,500 drug inspectors responsible for more than 10,000 factories, supplying medicines for a population of 1.2 billion and exporting to nearly 200 countries. Ghosh said he has 140 drug inspectors to monitor more than 50,000 pharmacies in the state. The central government wants to improve regulation of the key sector, and plans to spend $263 million in the next three years to strengthen the national and state regulatory system with additional equipment and staff and new laboratories. (Reuters)
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It is a sad, but undeniable, fact that India will soon bear the largest burden of lifestyle diseases in the world. Health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, depression, malnutrition, hypertension, among others, are affecting millions of Indian men and women. 1 in 4 Indians are at risk of an early death due to a lifestyle condition, and India's urban population faces particularly acute problems with 70 per cent at risk of developing heart disease.Many of these conditions are not viral or genetic, but are caused by unhealthy lifestyles such as poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and increased stress. These conditions not only cause terrible human loss but also come at a significant economic burden. In 2015, India will spend $257 billion to manage these conditions.We need solutions that go beyond traditional health systems to help tackle and solve these issues. The good news is that 'lifestyle diseases' can be tackled, not with expensive treatments or procedures, but by individuals changing their own behaviour. Something, with the right tools and guidance, we can all do. I believe that new technologies, particularly wearable technology, have a critical role to play in changing unhealthy lifestyles.As a teenager growing up in India in the late 1960's, the technology revolution in California and elsewhere felt a million miles away. But reading about innovative companies like Intel and the amazing work they were doing in micro-computing was a wakeup call for me - it showed me the potential of technology to transform our lives and transform our society. Fast forward 50 years, and as an entrepreneur and investor (now based in California), I'm lucky enough to work with companies like Jawbone, a wearable technology company that is helping millions of people around the world live better, healthier lives.Jawbone is launching their 'UP' range of activity trackers in India this month - and it couldn't come a moment too soon.Jawbone builds products that can change people's lives for the better. Their UP activity trackers allow you to track your movement, sleep and eating habits using sophisticated microtechnology embedded into slim, beautifully designed wristbands. Their powerful award-winning UP app provides users with real insights and health suggestions, based on their own data.So what does this mean in practice? UP tells you when you miss your step or sleep goals and makes suggestions on how to improve. Set a bedtime reminder and receive a gentle nudge when it's time to go to bed, or set the Smart Alarm to wake you up at the most optimal point in your sleep cycle. UP3, Jawbone's most advanced multi-sensor tracker, tracks your heart rate throughout the day and night and gives you real tips on how to manage and improve your overall heart health. This may be the easiest and most continuous way to track your heart health. It is a powerful system, backed by data science and sophisticated algorithms, that helps millions of people around the world move more, sleep better and live healthier.Technology is transforming so much of our world, but few technologies today have the same profound impact on the individual's behaviour as wearable trackers. I'm delighted that Jawbone is bringing their devices to India and I urge anyone interested in their health to try an UP band, start tracking and take positive steps towards getting fit and healthy. Because you never know - it might just save your life.The author, Vinod Khosla, is a renowned entrepreneur, investor and technologist. Also, the founder of the California-based Khosla Ventures and long-term investor in Jawbone
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Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India's largest drugmaker by sales, said it is looking to divest a manufacturing plant in Ireland as it tries to control costs that have spiralled since it bought RanbaxyLaboratories Ltd.The world's fifth largest generic drugmaker has been working on resolving issues at Ranbaxy's India-based drug manufacturing sites, all of which have been banned from exporting to its largest market, the United States, over quality control issues."Decisions are being made to either close or divest some of our manufacturing facilities," a Sun Pharma spokesman said in an emailed statement."Currently, the Ireland facility has been identified for divestment."Following the completion of the Ranbaxy acquisition in March this year, Sun Pharma last month reported one-off integration-related costs of 6.85 billion rupees ($102.86 million) for the quarter ended June.It has warned that revenue may remain flat or decline this fiscal year, as it faces supply constraints at one of its own plants in Gujarat.(Reuters)
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For nearly two years, Parkway Pantai has delayed the opening of its 450-bed India hospital, the Singapore-based medical firm's bid to cash in on one of Asia's fastest growing private healthcare markets, as it waited for the necessary permits. Parkway, a unit of the world's second largest healthcare group by market value IHH Healthcare Bhd, now intends to use acquisitions to quickly expand in India, where the private hospitals market is estimated to be worth $55 billion a year but where companies must obtain as many as 70 clearances from federal and local authorities to launch a new facility. "Greenfield is off the agenda," Ramesh Krishnan, Parkway's head of Middle East and South Asia operations, told Reuters by telephone from Singapore. "It's a market you don't want to wait eternally to tap into, so we've basically decided to do it inorganically. It's just a question of a shorter runway." In Mumbai, garbage festers around Parkway's already built Gleneagles Khubchandani hospital, which had been expected to open in 2012. Krishnan said it will now open next year. Expanding through acquisitions has increasingly become the tactic of choice for hospital operators seeking to speedily expand in India, where the demand for private healthcare is booming thanks to an overburdened public healthcare system. Data from BofA-ML Global Research shows the private hospital market is set to grow 16 percent a year to reach $120 billion by 2020, almost double the size of the Chinese market. This expansion strategy, however, does nothing to address a severe shortage of hospital beds, or bring down the cost of healthcare, issues that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has so far failed to fix despite election promises to upgrade the entire healthcare sector. India has 7 hospital beds per 10,000 people, lower than Southeast Asia's average of 10 beds and China's 38 beds, the World Health Organisation said last year. "Acquisitions are good for the industry, but can have worrying long-term implications for infrastructure development in the sector," said Rana Mehta, head of healthcare at consultants PwC India. Buy Trumps BuildExpanding through acquisitions is more lucrative for hospital firms than starting from scratch: the BofA-ML data shows companies pay up to $150,000 to set up a new bed in India, or more than double the $60,000 they pay to buy an existing bed. Acquisitions in India also remain cheaper than in many other countries: in Singapore, it costs $1.5 million to buy a hospital bed, and in South Africa, the cost is $100,000, the data shows. So far this year, IHH Healthcare has bought majority stakes in India's Global Hospitals Group and Continental Hospitals for about $240 million. The company already holds a 10.85 percent stake in India's largest hospital chain Apollo Hospitals Enterprise. "In India, strategic acquisitions help increase our speed to market and meet the pent-up demand for quality private healthcare," IHH Chief Executive Tan See Leng said via email. Privately owned Cygnus Hospitals said it plans to add about 35 hospitals to its network by 2018 solely through acquisitions. Manipal Hospitals has also ruled out building new facilities. "The land permits and other clearances can take years," said Manipal's Chief Operating Officer Gopal Devanahalli. The cost of suitable real estate, especially in rapidly developing cities, is also deterring hospital operators from building new facilities. Property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle said land prices in Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad, among others, have risen by more than a third since 2011. In June, Apollo Hospitals acquired a 220-bed hospital in Guwahati after it failed to find suitable land to build a new hospital in the northeastern city. "Cost of real estate and construction in some locations has become so prohibitive that it makes sense for us to evaluate acquisitions," said Chief Financial Officer Krishnan Akhileswaran. Apollo was also looking into possibly acquiring hospitals in Assam and Karnataka states, he added. (Reuters)
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Indian multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Cipla Ltd.’s recently announced acquisitions of the two US-based companies InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (InvaGen) and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc. are unlikely to affect its ratings, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). The two acquisitions, referred to as ‘transaction’, are subject to certain closing conditions and are valued at $550m. “The transaction is in sync with the management’s strategy to gear up and strengthen its front-end presence in the US, which is considered a high-margin geography,” says Jahnavi Prabhu, senior analyst, India Research. Cipla expects operational synergies accruing on account of this transaction to be reflected in therapy and product diversification, scaling-up of revenue, high profitability (acquired business generating EBIDTA margin of 25 per cent) and negligible debt levels of the acquired entity. The acquisition of InvaGen is likely to provide Cipla access to around 40 approved abbreviated new drug filings, 32 marketed products and a pipeline of 30 products which are to be approved over the next four years. In addition, InvaGen has filed five first-to-file products which represent a market size of around $8bn in revenue by 2018. “Cipla can also access to the government and institutional market in the US,” says Prabhu. Prabhu believes that it is also likely to provide Cipla access to large wholesalers and retailers in the US. InvaGen has three units located in Long Island, New York, with a total annual production capacity of 12 billion tablets and capsules and about 500 employees. The agency expects the acquisitions to be funded by a mix of internal accruals, existing cash balances and debt. It expects Cipla’s net leverage (adjusted net debt/EBIDTA) to increase but remain commensurate with the existing ratings. The benefits accruing on account of the to be acquired companies’ net leverage being lower than Cipla’s given their nil debt levels and higher EBIDTA margins are likely to be offset by the debt assumed for the acquisition. At FY15E, Cipla reported net leverage of 1.2x (FY14: 1.2x) and interest coverage (EBIDTA/interest) of 13.1x (15.4x). The company expects the transaction to be completed by end-December 2015, subject to the completion of certain conditions precedent and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals including the expiration or termination of the waiting period provided for by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
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India has again denied Pfizer Inc a patent on its rheumatoid arthritis drug tofacitinib, the latest setback for a multinational drugmaker seeking to enforce its intellectual property rights in the country. Pfizer sought a patent that covers an important chemical formulation of the active compound in the medicine, but the Indian Patent Office said the company would have to establish that the compound for which it is seeking a patent is therapeutically more effective than the active compound. "The invention disclosed and claimed in the instant application ... is not considered as an invention under the provisions of the Act," Bharat N S, an assistant controller at the patent office, wrote in an order dated Sept. 3. Pfizer is reviewing its options for further action, a Mumbai-based company spokesman said in an emailed statement. Drug patents have become a thorny issue for global drugmakers seeking to expand in India's fast-growing healthcare market. Companies including Pfizer, Bayer and Roche have in recent years struggled to retain exclusivity on drugs in India, and have blamed patent laws they say are designed to favour the local industry. India, however, has said its drug patents policy is designed to ensure medicines remain affordable for the country where less than 15 percent of the population has health insurance. India's patent office had rejected Pfizer's application to patent tofacitinib in 2011, but was ordered to reconsider the decision by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, after Pfizer appealed. (Reuters)
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Pharma firm Wockhardt said it will continue to strengthen its R&D capabilities to develop innovative and technologically advanced medicines. Addressing the shareholders in the company's annual report, Wockhardt Managing Director Murtaza Khorakiwala said the firm has set up three world-class, multi-disciplinary R&D facilities in India, the UK and the US, which are engaged in studies and experiments to develop new drugs and novel drug delivery systems for tomorrow. "We believe that the future lies in innovation, which will lead to quantum leaps in growth. We are determined to continue to focus on enhancing and strengthening our R&D capabilities," Khorakiwala said. "The R&D efforts comprise of over 850 scientists, research associates and technicians focusing on generics and new drug discovery programme concentrating on anti-infectives and recombinant bio-pharmaceuticals," he added. Wockhardt has increased its investment in R&D from 9.3 per cent of total sales in FY14 at Rs 450 crore to 11.5 per cent of total sales in FY15 at Rs 515 crore. The company said R&D efforts has resulted into the company building its intellectual property base by filing 267 patents and winning 82 patents in FY15, taking cumulative patents filed to 2,268 and patents won to 341. Wockhardt's new drug discovery programme also won QIDP (Qualified Infections Disease Product) status by US FDA for three new breakthrough drugs under development, making it the first pharma company in the world to hold this distinction. These anti-infective drugs will have an accelerated development trajectory to cater to critical and unmet needs in the antibiotics space, Khorakiwala said. The company is looking to continue its focus on building domestic business, sustaining business in developed markets and exploring new markets globally. "To meet unmet medical needs across the world, we will continue to focus on building our domestic business, sustaining business in developed markets and exploring new markets globally," Khorakiwala said. With manufacturing and R&D facilities in India, the UK and the US, Wockhardt caters to global markets across India, US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, he added. In FY 15, its international business accounted for 72 per cent of total sales, with the domestic business contributing 28 per cent, registering a growth of 24 per cent over FY14. "Wockhardt has become the largest Indian generics company in the UK and largest generic pharma player in Ireland," Khorakiwala said.
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The Friday announcement lifted Cipla shares as high as 4 per cent to Rs 675 a unit to start with, the share price settled at 4.4 per cent lower at Rs 652 just before Friday closing, reports C H UnnikrishnanIndian generic drug maker Cipla said on Friday (4 September) that its UK unit, Cipla EU, has acquired two US-based generic drug companies -- InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc for a total value of Rs 3,655 crore ($550 million). This acquisition, which is the second landmark acquisition in Cipla’s 80 years of history, will give the company scale in the US generics market through a wide ranging product portfolio in neuro, cardiovascular, diabetes, infection treatments. Although the Friday announcement lifted Cipla shares as high as 4 per cent to Rs 675 a unit from the previous close in the morning trade on BSE, the share price settled at 4.4 per cent lower at Rs 652 just before Friday closing. "The transaction being subject to certain closing conditions, is valued at $550 million and will be an all cash transaction," Cipla said in statement. The combined revenue from these transactions is over $200 million for the year ended December 2014, the company added. InvaGen, owned by the promoter of Hyderabad-based drug maker Hetero Drugs Ltd, currently offers a large capacity manufacturing base at Hauppauge in New York. It also provides Cipla with a skilled research and development unit in the US for the first time, in addition to a large product pipeline. InvaGen has 3 manufacturing units located in Long Island with a total production capacity of 12 billion tablets and capsules per annum and about 500 employees. This acquisition further provides Cipla with an access to large wholesalers/retailers in the US. While, the acquisition of Exelan Pharmaceuticals provides Cipla access to the government and institutional market in the US through Exelan’s deep expertise, engagement and experienced management team in the business. “This investment is in line with Cipla’s strategy to grow Cipla’s share in the US pharmaceutical market. We see InvaGen as a strong strategic fit with a relevant diverse portfolio as well as a strong market and customer presence," said Cipla managing director and global chief executive Subhanu Saxena. "This is an exciting opportunity for InvaGen to join with Cipla. InvaGen brings an experienced team and good manufacturing capabilities to the partnership. We are confident that the combination of InvaGen and Cipla will significantly enhance the product portfolio offering, including specialty products, to the US patients and will give InvaGen access to Cipla's global expertise and presence," said Sudhakar Vidiyala, president and chief executive officer of InvaGen Pharmaceuticals. While responding to media reports on Friday that Hetero divests its US generic business, the Hyderabad drug maker said that the current sale of Invagen pharmaceuticals is the sale of strategic investment by the Hetero promoter group which has a different product portfolio than Hetero. "InvaGen Pharmaceuticals is not linked directly to the flagship companies of Hetero group, and the company (Hetero) has currently a portfolio of 130 to-be-approved products in US. The company will continue to strengthen its presence in US market by investing in generics and speciality products through its subsidiary firm Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc," Hetero spokesperson said.
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Cipla Ltd, India's fourth-largest drugmaker by sales, said on Friday it has agreed to buy two generics businesses in the United States in an all-cash deal worth $550 million to get access to a wide range of products. The companies to be acquired, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc, had combined sales of $225 million in the last twelve months to June 2015, Cipla said in a statement. As per the agreement, the cash consideration payable for Invagen is $500 million and for Exelan is $50 million. The transaction is expected to be completed by end of December 2015, Cipla said. The company said the acquisitions will strengthen its presence in the US in terms of scale, revenue, manufacturing opportunities and building a wide range of product portfolio. Invagen was incorporated in the year 2003 and is engaged in the business of development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of generic pharmaceuticals with focus on wide range of therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, anti-infective, CNS, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-depressants, according to the Cipla statement. The turnover of Invagen for the financial year ending December 2012, December 2013 and December 2014 was about $130 million, $135 million and $190 million respectively. Exelan was incorporated in the year 2011 and is engaged in the business of sales and marketing of generic pharmaceuticals for the government and institutional market. The turnover of Exelan for the financial year ending December 2012, December 2013 and December 2014 was about $2 million, $14 million and $28 million respectively. Shares RiseShares in Cipla, a pioneer in India's emergence as a force in generic drugs, climbed after the announcement, extending gains to as much as 4 per cent, while the Nifty was trading down nearly 2 per cent. The US makes up only about 8 per cent of its total sales so far, but Cipla expects it will make up a fifth of its overall sales by 2020, Chief Executive Subhanu Saxena said in June. The ramp up of the US business is aimed at reducing its reliance on emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil that currently contribute about 80 per cent to its overall revenue.
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