Page 46 - Sohini Das

Imported drugs for rare diseases to be exempt from customs duty

Normally, medicines attract a basic customs duty of 10%, while some life-saving drugs or vaccines attract a concessional rate of 5%, or are completely exempt from duties

India reports 2,151 fresh Covid cases, highest single-day rise in 5 months

At present, active case load in the country is 11,903 cases, according to Health Ministry; daily positivity rate is 1.51%, while weekly positivity rate is 1.53%

House panel wants e-pharmacy rules in place asap, MoHFW to act soon

Meanwhile, e-pharmacies say they are open to working with the Ministry and regulators for any alignment required

Cracking the whip: 18 drug companies lose licence over spurious medicines

Move comes after Drugs Controller General of India conducts inspection on 76 drug firms in 20 states

Experts seek consensus on long Covid definition, bat for treatment protocol

One study found that 65 million patients, or 10% of the 651 million confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide, have long-Covid. For hospitalised cases, the rate rose to 50-70%

Essential medicines set for a highest ever price rise of 12% this year

Prices of 900 formulations are expected to increase to reflect annual change in WPI

Sun Pharma may incur revenue loss for ransomware incident on March 2

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company may incur expenses in connection with incident; India was the second most attacked country for ransomware in the APAC-Japan region in 2022

Consumer, tyre companies wait for crude derivative prices to ease

The firms also say that while crude oil prices have cooled off, they must sustain at current levels for actual impact to be seen on manufacturing operations

Steelmakers press for higher auto contract prices after three quarters

Spot steel prices have been rising both globally and at home since December; a hike of over 12% in the domestic market would have been the basis of negotiations for the upcoming contracts

India commits to eradicating TB by 2025, way ahead of global time line

Starts 3-month prevention course; generic low cost versions of J&J's MDR-TB drug likely to boost programme

India's TB programme: Low cost generics of J&J's MDR-TB drug on the anvil

Indian Patent Office's decision on J&J's bedaquiline came on the eve of World Tuberculosis Day, marked on March 24 every year, to raise public awareness & to boost efforts to end the TB epidemic

Covid restrictions took longer to ease in India than several of its peers

Value of stringency index remained higher than several large economies between 2020 and 2023

Compliant with localisation norms under FAME II: Okinawa MD Sharma

Co submitted requisite documents; awaiting meeting with MHI; at an industry level subsidy worth Rs 1,500 cr held up

PV, CV segments drove auto sales in FY23; demand moderation likely in FY24

PV industry 'very sentiment-driven', will close financial year with 24% growth rate: Analyst

World Bank arm IFC to invest Rs 600 cr in M&M's new last-mile mobility firm

Deal values newly incorporated company at Rs 6,020 cr; the investment, which will be in the form of compulsory convertible instruments, will give IFC an ownership of 9.97-13.64% in the enterprise

Tata Motors to raise prices of commercial vehicles by 5% from April

This would be the fourth price hike by India's largest automobile maker this fiscal year

M&M buys out VC firm Omnivore's stake to acquire agri-tech firm MITRA

Deal size not disclosed, will make MITRA a wholly-owned subsidiary of M&M; is in sync with Mahindra's plan to grow revenues from farm machinery 10 fold in next five years

Footfalls, enquiries hit speed-breaker at car dealerships, visits dip 8-10%

Slowdown began showing up in Jan, though there has been some improvement in March second half

Rising infections: States on alert as Covid-19 cases hit 4-month high

Doctors say 100-150% increase in flu cases

Eris Lifesciences buys dermatology brands from Dr Reddy's for Rs 275 crore

In January Eris had bought some derma brands from Glenmark Pharma as well