China and India to sign MoU to collaborate on pharmaceuticals

Indian and Chinese drug makers are moving towards a collaboration they expect will give both sides a greater play in the global market, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Livemint. On Wednesday, the first day of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s three-day visit to India, the two sides drafted a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be signed in January.

“China and India could collaborate in joint tendering for global pharma export orders, given China’s strengths in the production of quality active pharmaceutical ingredients, India’s capability in volume production of formulations and the ability of Indian companies to prepare documentation for global tendering,” said Liu Zhanglin, vice-president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products.

He added that the Indian and Chinese governments have to jointly work to tackle the problem of counterfeit drugs, especially after some manufacturers in China labeled their products as “Made in India” and exported them. This has been affecting the image of the Indian generic industry.