India may lose Rs 6,300 Crores in pharma exports

India is set to suffer at least $1 billion (Rs 6,300 crore) of losses in pharmaceutical exports this fiscal year after the European Commission banned nearly 700 generic drugs after GVK Bio allegedly manipulated clinical trials.

Director general of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council PV Appaji said, "Majority of those 700 generic drugs are either produced or sourced by the domestic and multinational pharmaceutical companies in India. We estimate that the loss of exports could be $1-1.2 billion this fiscal."

A commerce ministry official said, "The commerce ministry is not happy with the latest development of the European Commission going ahead with ban even after series of consultations we had with the respective European agencies. We are reviewing the situation and will decide shortly on the course of action."

Appaji said that the commerce ministry is scheduled to organize discussions with the stakeholders in the next couple of days and may lodge a compliant with the global agencies against the European Commission.

India reportedly exported $15.2 billion or Rs 94,275 crore of pharmaceutical products in 2014-15, with European Union accounting for a fifth or $3 billion.

Image credit: Indiatimes