Hindustan Antibiotics proposal to reduce China dependence for APIs

As the Indian government scouts for options to deal with any potential active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) scarcity that can arise in the future to counter the new coronavirus (COVID-19), the country's oldest public sector pharmaceutical company, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), has submitted a proposal to the government to reduce dependence on China for fermentation-based bulk drugs.

Other public sector undertakings (PSU) have also offered to step in to reduce API drug dependence from China, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

HAL's proposal says it can make up to 50% of the bulk drugs if it is provided financial assistance to upgrade its infrastructure.