Indian firms grab 34% of SA govt's AIDS drug order

Indian companies have bagged 34.3 per cent of the AIDS drugs supply contracts announced by the South African government last week. The anti-retroviral drug tender floated by South Africa is the largest of its kind in the world.

Of the Rs 2,831 crore worth order for anti-retroviral drugs, about Rs 970 crore have come to four Indian companies primarily through the joint venture (JV) entities set up by Ranbaxy and Cipla, the South African Health Ministry has stated.

While Ranbaxy’s South African JV Sonke Pharmaceuticals bagged a supply contract that comes to 21.9 per cent (over Rs 600 crore) of the total tender value, Cipla-Medpro cornered 5.1 per cent (about Rs 145 crore) share. The other two firms are Strides Acrolab (4.2 per cent or approximately Rs 118 crore) and Aurobindo Pharma (3.1 per cent or approximately Rs 90 crore).

On the whole, 10 firms won the tenders, the supplies for which will begin from January 1, 2011 and go on till December 31, 2012.

With 40 per cent share, South African firm Aspen Pharmacare claimed the highest pie. Ranbaxy’s JV is the second in the list. Ranbaxy will manufacture the medicines from its South African and Indian facilities, a company statement said.

The institutional supplies in overseas countries are increasingly becoming a major business model for Indian medicine exporters as more countries, including UK and Europe, are looking at reducing their healthcare costs. South Africa had succeeded in bringing down the cost of its ARV drug procurement by 53.1 per cent by making the tenders more competitive.