Indian, Chinese drug cos may jointly bid for global tenders

NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese drug manufacturers may jointly bid for global supply tenders as the industry bodies of both the countries are expected to sign an agreement next month, said Indian Drug Manufacturer's Association (IDMA) president Daara Patel on Wednesday.

The industry bodies would seek to leverage competitive advantages of each other to grab lucrative international drug supply orders, he added. While the Chinese have cost advantage in manufacturing the basic raw chemical used in making drugs, the Indian firms have mastered the art of reverse engineering to make low-cost version of patented drugs.

"The proposed partnership will allow Chinese drugmakers to learn and increase their presence in finished product segment ," said China Chamber of Commerce Import & Export of Medicines and Heath Products’ vice-president , Liu Zhanglin.

A MoU would be inked between IDMA and its Chinese counterpart next month, which would also seek to increase the size of bilateral trade in healthcare sector.