Blanket API Import Ban Rumors Panic India

Feb. 5, 2016

Last week, India news sites reported that the U.S. government had made it mandatory for all Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to be manufactured locally.

Considering China and India are the largest suppliers of APIs to the U.S. market and most generic drugs sold in the U.S. are relying on APIs from India or China to keep costs down, this news caused significant panic.

The report has since been clarified: The U.S. government’s decision to not allow overseas pharmaceutical companies to import APIs applies to only one particular Biocon anti-retroviral drug and is not a blanket ban.

Additionally, move is meant only for those who supply through government tenders, as India has not signed the World Trade Organisation’s government procurement agreement.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director at Biocon, clarified the situation to CNBC and theorized that the decision was made based on "unutilized capacity' in the United States.

Read the Money Control article