Pharma SMEs stock up on a month's raw material amid supply disruptions

With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders.

The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China. Some products, such as antibiotics and vitamins (fermentation bulk drugs), are imported to the extent of 90 per cent