After Cyclone Hudhud battered Visakhapatnam, the pharmaceutical sector in north Andhra Pradesh is worried over delivery schedules going haywire impacting their brand image.
Though the physical loss to their infrastructure is yet to be assessed, over 50 units that invested in pharma sector have suffered an operational loss of Rs.100 crore according to a conservative estimate.
Added to the plight, authorities say, it will take two weeks for them to restore power and water supply. Pharma units including multinationals such as Eisai Pharmatechnology & Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd, Hospira, Aurobindo Pharma and Reddys Lab, which have invested in the region, are in a state of shock after shutting down their units a day before Hudhud ravaged the region.
The industry, which is spread over coastal areas of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram has an export turnover of Rs.5,000 crore to Rs.6,000 crore. Their major clients for life saving drugs for cardio vascular diseases, cancer and diabetes are from the United States, the Europe and ASEAN.
‘’Our own operating loss is Rs.10 crore. As we are a highly sensitive industrial sector, the authorities should take immediate steps to restore power and water supply. Even if we start operations on a limited scale, we desperately need water from Ramky, which developed Jawaharlal Pharma City at Parawada,’’ Eisai Managing Director Sanjit Singh Lamba told The Hindu .
When contacted, JNPC CEO Lal Krishna said they were making all-out efforts to ensure normalcy. Each unit has suffered a production loss of at least Rs.25 lakh to Rs.1 crore going by the assumption that it will take two weeks to restart the operation.
To ensure normal production, the industry would take six months, said CEO of another pharma unit, which deals in APIs. While shutting down the units on the basis of weather forecast, we followed the best protocols in the world to avoid any gas leak, he said.
