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The government has approved FDI worth around Rs. 4,000 Crores for four pharma and medical devices firms. 
 
The accepted list includes Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Biocon's Syngene. However, Strides Arcolab was not allowed to issue shares to non-resident and resident equity shareholders of Shasun Pharmaceuticals. Three other drug companies’ applications have been delayed. 
 
The government’s decision to allow Torrent Pharmaceuticals' Rs. 3,000 Crores proposal for increasing FII limit to 35% from 13.09% was the biggest today. Syngene's proposal to raise FDI of about Rs. 930 Crores by raising the foreign investment to 44% from the current 10% was the second biggest in the pharmacy sector today. 
 
Others given approval are Stericat Gut Strings Pvt Ltd for FDI of Rs 43.52 Crores as it wants to sell 77.5% of its shares to Groupe Peters Surgical LLC 
 
Ordain Health Care Global Pvt Ltd was also allowed FDI of Rs. 23.34 Crore to buy assets from Alkems Fertica. 
 
The list whose proposals were delayed includes Celon Laboratories, Shantha Biotechnics and Sparsha Pharma International. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Whopping Rs. 4,000 Crores FDI boost for Indian Pharma

New Delhi, Jan 16 () The delay in notification of e-pharmacy draft rules is causing anxiety among stakeholders involved in digital health ecosystem, industry body Ficci said on Thursday.
 There is no violation of any existing act and rules in current e-pharmacy model. However, there are certain difficulties that the sector has been facing towards ease of doing business due to regulatory uncertainty, Ficci said in a statement.
 This is because of the pending draft e-pharmacy rules. The draft rules provide sector specific e-commerce regulations with aim to harmonise existing laws/guidelines, it added.
 "The delay in the notification of e-pharmacy draft rules is causing confusion and anxiety for all the stakeholders involved in digital health ecosystem," the statement said.
 By leveraging the technology in a smart way and under appropriate regulatory control, the e-pharmacy sector has scope of adding immense value to the existing pharmacy retail industry, and also the overall healthcare sector, it added.
 Stating that e-pharmacies comply with the laws of the land, Ficci e-Pharmacy Working Group Chairperson Prashant Tandon said, "All the orders for prescription-based medicines are processed only against a copy of valid prescription and are dispensed by a licensed pharmacy having a registered pharmacist."
 Currently, there are over 50 start-ups operating in e-pharmacy space in the country, providing quality and affordable medicines to about 50 lakh patients per month across the country, the statement said.
 About 30,000 skilled professionals are employed by the sector. The e-pharmacy sector has attracted over Rs 4,000 crore in FDI from some of the top global investors, and another Rs 2,000 crore is expected in the next 2 to 3 years, it added. AKT RVK

Delay in notification of e-pharmacy draft rules causing concern in the sector: Ficci

<ul><li>India needs to ramp up its <keyword id="6585925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cold-storage">cold storage</keyword> facilities to accommodate the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine within the country.</li><li>The shortfall in India’s cold storage extended to before the outbreak when food supply in excess of refrigeration capacity led to wastage. </li><li>This is why experts believe the ramp-up of cold storage will have long-lasting benefits across industries even once the pandemic is over. </li></ul>India has been debating the need for cold storage seemingly forever⁠. The issue has been raised every time there is a shortage of food items, or every time someone has argued in favour of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. However, now the need to ensure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines has triggered an emergency need for building ample cold storage that will be useful even after the pandemic. India's cold storage and the COVID-19 vaccine bottleneck India will need to administer around 1.7 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to immunise most of its adult population. While it's true that the country has more than ample means to manufacture the required vaccine doses, it currently doesn't have enough cold storage to keep it all. "The limited capacity of cold storage in India will be a big challenge. It will not be easy," India's Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan acknowledged during a press conference last week. The lack of standardised protocols, plagued by an unreliable power supply, and struggling even to store the most basic agricultural produce are signs that India's cold storage facilities will be tested as the country faces its greatest challenge yet. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">The cold storage challenge: </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total doses required to immunise India’s population </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.66 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India’s total vaccine manufacturing capacity </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2.4 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India’s total estimated cold storage capacity </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">450-550 million </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Company data, Credit Suisse estimates Logistics companies and airlines, key stakeholders in ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccine can get from one place to another, have the required capability — but even they’re <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/airlines-logistics-firms-seek-clarity-on-storage-supply/amp-11606150713681.html">struggling with the question of capacity. </a> How much cold storage does India need for the COVID-19 vaccine? In order to store the COVID-19 properly, the government will have to utilise a part of the infrastructure available under the current immunisation program and need support from players in the private sector. But the utilisation of the Expanded Program for Immunisation (EPI) for the COVID-19 vaccine has not been officially announced yet. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India’s cold storage capacity </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Number of doses </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Government capacity </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">200-250 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Private sector capacity </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">250-300 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TOTAL CAPACITY </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">450-550 million </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Company data, Credit Suisse estimates It’s also why COVID-19 vaccines being developed by Pfizer and Moderna won’t be feasible to distribute in the Indian market. To store a vaccine at minus 70 degrees Celsius would require a significant overall of the existing system since most of the country’s cold storage is only equipped to offer a temperature range of between two to eight degrees Celsius. COVID-19 vaccine candidates offered by Oxford, Johnson and Johnson, and Novavax are the top contenders for distribution in India primarily because of their ability to survive in warmer temperatures. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Vaccine candidates and the temperatures they need to survive: </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Vaccine </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cold chain </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pfizer/BioNTech </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-70 degrees Celsius </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Moderna </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-20 degrees Celsius </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Oxford/AstraZeneca </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2-8 degrees </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Johnson and Johnson </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2-8 degrees </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Novavax </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2-8 degrees </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Respective companies Opportunities for cold storage post pandemic Cold storage is a part of the infrastructure and a subsector of real estate that consists of large refrigerated warehouses and holds the country’s entire food supply together. “Expansions and new service launches will offer lucrative opportunities for market players over the next five years,” noted a report by <a href="https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cold-chains-frozen-food-market-811.html">MarketsandMarkets</a> from October. It pegs India to be the fastest-growing country in the Asia Pacific when it comes to the cold chain market. According to Manoj Pant, the regional business manager at Snowman Logistics, cold chain storage will play a pivotal role in storing food perishables after the pandemic. This expands from e-commerce companies to online pharmacies to organised meat and seafood retail. “The hiccups experienced by the food storage and supply chain due to the pandemic are raising concerns on the food security of India. A robust cold chain infrastructure is needed to strengthen the supply and storage of perishables to suffice India’s population,” he stated. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Typical temperatures for a cold storage facility: </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Temperature range </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Items permissible </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Below -18 degrees Celsius </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Meat and seafood </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0 to 10 degrees Celsius </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dairy products, fruits, medicines and meat </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 to 20 degrees Celsius </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flowers, fruits, vegetables and wine </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Above 20 degrees Celsius </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flowers and wine </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: CBRE Property consultant CBRE agrees with Pant’s take. “Cold storage facilities play an integral role in improving the shelf life of products and are an important enabler for several industries working across fresh food production and delivery; along with healthcare and other products such as flowers and chemicals,” said Anshuman Magazine, the chairman of CBRE across India, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. These are the reasons behind the lack of cold storage infrastructure in India Limited capacity to store at the required temperatures for a vaccine is only one part of the equation. Even the existing infrastructure is not without its pitfalls. These facilities' inadequacy gets highlighted further when looking at the more humid southern states, as a report by CBRE Research pointed out in October. The facilities themselves are managed by farmers or labour who may not necessarily be aware of the correct procedure to handle the storage of medical equipment, like vaccines. In their defense, the facilities themselves lack focus on anything else but crops coming in, especially onions, chillies, or potatoes. Even so, there are very few standards and protocols in place for managing a cold storage facility in India. Even if India wants to ramp up the development of cold storage facilities, most of the technology that goes into building them is currently imported from outside India. This ramps up costs and leaves India dependent on other countries. As a country, India also needs to solve the issue of power cuts plaguing the storage of crops at cold storage facilities for years. It’s now more critical when dealing with COVID-19 vaccines. India’s Power Ministry <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/india-still-not-power-surplus-nation-peak-deficit-at-0-8-energy-deficit-at-0-6-in-2018-19/articleshow/68952124.cms?from=mdr">claims </a>that the country’s power peak deficit is around 0.8%; however, uninterrupted power is still an <a href="https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/opinion-why-rationalisation-of-tariffs-in-power-sector-is-crucial-11605085733822.html">issue</a>. The Indian government’s plan so far In order to resolve these bottlenecks and successfully distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in India, the health ministry has advised states to stop working on individual plans for distribution. Instead, they’ve been asked to create a database according to the blueprint issued by the central government. If experts are to be believed, the expansion of cold storage is not only essential for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, but also in terms of the opportunities, it presents post-pandemic for a host of other sectors. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/heres-a-look-at-covid-19-vaccine-updates-from-around-the-world/articleshow/79420603.cms">COVID-19 vaccine latest updates</a>

The urgency triggered by COVID vaccine is a great opportunity for India to build all the cold storage it has needed for a long time

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Whopping Rs. 4,000 Crores FDI boost for Indian Pharma

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Delay in notification of e-pharmacy draft rules causing concern in the sector: Ficci

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The urgency triggered by COVID vaccine is a great opportunity for India to build all the cold storage it has needed for a long time

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