Pharma sector under pressure over price rise, shortage of raw materials

Chandigarh The pharma sector is facing shooting prices and shortage of raw materials, known as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), as 85 per cent of them come from China, Assocham said on Tuesday. It sought government's intervention in clearing the bottleneck in the import. "Such practices are not acceptable during these challenging times when the whole country is fighting a battle against the pandemic. We urge an immediate intervention from authorities to take necessary action against this practice," Assocham Chairman of Northern Region Development Council A.S. Mittal said in a statement.

The drugs for which the raw material cost has gone up multifold include paracetamol (price from Rs 350 to Rs 790 per kg), propylene glycol (from Rs 140 to Rs 400 per kg) ivermectin (from Rs 18,000 to Rs 52,000 per kg) doxycycline (from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per kg) and azithromycin (from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 per kg). Jitender Sodhi, Assocham Chairman of Himachal Pradesh State Development Council, said, "The economic impact of the Covid-19 second wave has started taking a toll on pharma sector as well. Pharma grade raw materials should be supplied to manufacturers uninterrupted through provision of special passes and green passes can help in curbing the problem of shortage of raw material."

Call on action for mandatory fixing of base prices on per km basis for transportation vehicles and ambulances indulged in the services of Covid-19 should be taken by the government, which can help in cost cutting of raw material, he added.