Pharma exports from Andhra Pradesh is set to record a quantum jump in the coming years, with several multinational companies evincing interest in investing in bulk drugs and formulations in the State.
North Andhra region, which is considered as the major hub, has pharma industry worth $1 billion. Domestic pharma clusters have been developed in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Pithampur (Indore), Baroda, Ahmedabad. According to projections, the country’s pharma industry, which is worth $13 billion at present, will cross the $30 billion-mark by 2020.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC) developed at Parawada near Visakhapatnam in 2,400 acres, of which 611 acres fall under the ambit of Special Economic Zone (SEZ), has attracted major investments from Hospira, Mylan, Eisai, Reddy’s Lab and Aurobindo Pharma.
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Lupin Ltd has launched works with an investment of Rs.500 crore on its new venture in the JNPC. Biocon, a fully integrated health care company, is expected to revive its investment at Parawada.
Officials of the US-India Business Council, during a recent meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, discussed investment plans worth around $5 billion by Mylan, which has four facilities in Vizag. Further, Hospira has already invested huge amount on its facility and Johnson & Johnson has shown interest in investing on a greenfield project here.
“The present scenario is quite encouraging, with the promise of 24x7 power supply . We are expecting a slew of government incentives to ensure a big fillip to investments in the sector,” Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd Managing Director Sanjit Singh Lamba told
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With the Government of Telangana announcing to set up a mega pharma city in that State, big players will zero in on AP or Telangana, depending on the incentives offered to them, he said. Approval of an air cargo complex at Visakhapatnam airport and the decision of Pharmaceutical Council of India to open its campus with testing and buyer-seller facilities in two acres adjoining the JNPC are two major developments to boost pharma exports. “We are confident that North Andhra will emerge as a major destination for investments in pharma sector,” Pharmexcil Director General P.V. Appaji said.
(Reported by
Santosh Patnaik)