The Hindu Business Line : Cipla urges Govt to allow retail sale of anti-flu drugs

Mumbai, Aug 26 “We are adults and should be treated as adults,” says Cipla Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Y. K. Hamied, responding to queries on the Centre’s decision to not allow retail sales of anti-flu drugs Oseltamivir and Zanamivir, fearing resistance would develop against the medicines.

“I sincerely believe that to stop the panic, people need to have access to the medicine,” he told shareholders, against the backdrop of the World Health Organisation’s caution that swine flu is poised for a second wave.

Cipla makes and sells both drugs under the brand names Antiflu and Virenza, and even exports them. The export sales from Antiflu are at about Rs 40 crore, he said. However, Cipla’s sales in India are “zero”, he said, as neither is the company able to sell in retail shops, nor has the Government sourced these drugs from the company. The Centre’s tender process sources from companies offering the lowest price.

Cipla had planned and started production years before the actual pandemic, when the price of shikimic acid (the ingredient sourced from the spice star anise and used in Tamiflu) was high, he said, explaining the company’s price.

Cipla shares were marginally up on the BSE, at Rs 261, on Wednesday.

Cipla's shareholders also passed an enabling resolution to raise Rs 1,500 crore from the capital market to support the company's expansion plans and to pay back about Rs 800 crore of debt, he said. The method of raising funds is still open-ended, he said, adding that it would be raised depending on the need.

On the cards is a capital expenditure of Rs 500-600 crore in two years, resulting in working capital requirements of about Rs 300 annually, he said. A new active pharmaceutical ingredients plant is to come up in Bangalore, even as the existing facilities in Kurkumbh and Patalganga are to be expanded. Research activities are also being expanded in Vikhroli and Patalganga, he added.

Cipla is also interested in formalising a joint-venture alliance with its partner in China, in the biotech space, he said, focussing largely on the oncology segment. The deal will be formalised soon, he added.

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