India on Wednesday launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-malaria new-age drug Synriam. The drug, produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories, was formally introduced for marketing here.

The drug, launched by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, has been developed by the company in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research.

New Delhi: India has developed a powerful new malaria drug — an alternative to the global drug of choice Artemisinin — that promises to be a major boost to India’s pharmaceutical research. The new drug’s raw materiel is synthetic (derived chemically in the lab) while Artemisinin is derived from a plant.
Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ranbaxy will unveil India’s first new chemical entity against the P falciparum malaria on Wednesday to commemorate World Malaria Day.

Bombay HC refuses to stay 1996 notice to 500 companies on overcharging for bulk drugs
More than 500 Indian drug companies will have to collectively pay over . 4,000 crore in dues after a high court shot down their petition challenging penalty notices sent by drug authorities for overcharging.
Special counsel for the government, GR Sharma, said companies will have to collectively pay . 4,000-5,000 crore, which includes an initial principal amount and interest.

Mumbai: Japanese drug major Daiichi has lowered its profit forecast for the year ending March 2012, and slashed senior executive pay, to offset the impending loss arising out of its Indian subsidiary, Ranbaxy’s $500-million legal settlement in the US.

The Lipitor incident provides us with some insight into the pharmaceutical world, where science rubs shoulders with greed and intrigue

Cholesterol Drug Hits US Stores The Day Pfizer Loses Patent Protection

Lipitor goes off patent today, but Pfizer may’ve queered pitch for clones, impacting Ranbaxy-led Indian pharma

India’s attempts to check foreign investment in pharma and expand drug pricing control could force multinationals to exit the country, the head of Pfizer India has warned. “India might not become attractive market if we have such controls, you will see companies pulling out of India,” Kewal Handa, the managing director of the Indian unit of the $67-billion Pfizer, said in an interview at his office. “It’s the attractiveness of the domestic business that attracts investment. All global companies have their options open.

Aggressive marketing initiatives by Pfizer Inc may reduce Ranbaxy Laboratories’ earnings from the scheduled launch of its lowcost version of Lipitor, the world’s largest selling drug, in the US by the month end. The world’s largest drugmaker earns around $6 billion from Lipitor sales in the US and it has over the last 12 months taken measures to prevent its market share from falling dramatically after Ranbaxy and its own authorised generic partner, Watson Pharmaceuticals, begin selling their versions of the blockbuster cholesterol lowering drug.