Bangalore, May 20 : Leading pharma and nutraceutical export player Sami Labs Monday unveiled a holistic strategy to increase its market share in India to 10 percent in the near future from two percent currently.

"We are expanding and diversifying our client base across the country to sell a range of bulk actives and supply finished products for increasing our market share in India by five times," Sami Labs managing director Muhammed Majeed said here Monday.

The shares of pharmaceuticals companies recorded a fall today following an order by the Department of Pharmaceuticals that would put price control of drugs and make them cheaper in the country.

According to the latest information available, the prices of 652 formulations under 27 therapeutic areas like anti-allergic (cetrizine), cardiac (aten), gastro-intestinal medicines (ocid), pain-killers (paracetamol) and anti-diabetic drugs (insulin) are expected to come down in the country following the government order.

Pennsylvania has joined with other U. S. states in the $500 million settlement that pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy recently hit to resolve civil & criminal allegations over supplying adulterated drugs, Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced on Thursday.

Ranbaxy was slapped with charges that it knowingly manufactured and sold generic drugs which had lower purity, strength and quality than required by the FDA.

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) has recorded a net profit of Rs. 44 crore during the fourth quarter from January to March, 2013 mainly due to a strong growth in operational income.

The company has said that the company a loss of Rs. 21.6 crore in the previous year. The company has said that its income from operations rose to Rs. 72 crore during the quarter compared to Rs. 4.22 crore during the same quarter of the previous year. The company’s TTM EPS was recorded at Rs -0.41 per share as of March, 2013.

Pharmaceuticals giant Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd on Tuesday reported an impressive increase of 66.6 per cent in its quarterly net profit, thanks to strong sales in North America and emerging markets.

Dr Reddy's said its net profit jumped to Rs 571.01 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2013, from Rs 342.70 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has indicated that its US unit will pay a record $500 million to settle charges of non-compliance with the American regulator's drug manufacturing quality norms and providing false data in the filings made to the US Food and Drug Administration six months earlier.

New Delhi, May 8 : Around 7.5 lakh chemists across India will observe a one-day strike Friday against government policies and their impact on traders, a statement said Wednesday.

A statement by the Retailers and Distributors Chemist Association (RDCA) said that "7.5 Lakh chemists in the country will hold demonstrations and agitations in all parts of the country".

Contending that the new drug policy will reduce their profits and cause inconvenience, Sandeep Nangia, president of RDCA, Delhi, said they had four demands which, if met by the government, would end the standoff.

India’s largest drug-maker, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has recorded a disappointing 90 per cent fall in net profit during the first quarter of the year from January to March, 2013.

The company has said that its consolidated net profit fell 90 per cent to Rs. 126 crore during the first quarter compared to Rs. 1,247 crore recorded in the same quarter of the previous year when the company had exclusive rights to a generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the US market.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals shares gained 2.41 per cent on Thursday after it announced 27 per cent rise in its annual profit.

The Vadodara-based drug maker said it net profit jumped from Rs 130.14 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, to Rs 165.25 crore in the year ended on March 31, 2013.

Full fiscal year operating income increased 15 per cent; while fourth quarter operating income climbed a whopping 115 per cent year-on-year, from Rs 20.31 crore to Rs 43.65 crore.

New Delhi, April 29 : India Monday vouched for the safety and efficacy of drugs manufactured by it and asked African countries not to mix patent issues with those of quality.

"India is the largest supplier of generic medicines in the world. These drugs are issued only after their quality and compatibility are checked," said P. V. Appaji, director general of the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council.

Addressing African delegates and ministers at the India-Africa Policy Dialogue on Pharmaceuticals here, Appaji said that every country in the world was looking at affordable medicines.

Granules India Ltd, a pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, has recorded a net of Rs 12.41 crore during the fourth quarter of the year 2012-2013.

Hyderabad, April 25 : Granules India Ltd., a fast growing pharmaceutical manufacturing company, has reported eight percent growth in the net profit during 2012-13.

The company earned a net profit of Rs. 33 crore against Rs. 30 crore during the previous year.

The net sales during the year were Rs. 764 crore, an increase of 17 percent over 2011-12.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals has said that it has entered into an agreement with Europe-based Allecra Therapeutics for jointly developing novel antibiotics to fight multi-drug resistant bacterial infections.

"As part of its investment into Allecra, Orchid has assigned to Allecra IP (Intellectual Property) related to an antibiotic discovery program which will then be pursued through further trials by Allecra," the company said in a statement.

Chennai, April 18 : City-based Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has transferred the intellectual property (IP) related to an antibiotic discovery programme to Europe-based Allecra Therapeutics, a top company official said Thursday.

"We have completed the in-house animal trials on the proposed drug. We have transferred the IP to Allecra in a cash-cum-stake deal. We will hold around 20 percent stake in Allecra and receive around $1 million in cash soon," K. Raghavendra Rao, chairman and managing director of Orchid, told IANS.

Mumbai, April 16 : The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) will host a three-day pharma convention from April 24, an official said Tuesday.

Titled iPHEX 2013, the convention is being organised with the support of the commerce and industry ministry, department of commerce, and the central government. The convention will have 200 stalls by Indian pharma companies and over 5,000 business visitors, including overseas buyers.

According to a new report, doctors and nurses in the health services in the UK received a total of £40million in payments from the world's biggest drug firms in a period of one year for consultancy work and sponsorship.

The Delhi High Court has ruled against granting of interim relief to US pharmaceuticals major Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) on a patent dispute with Indian firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

The Indian Medical Association has welcomes a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of India, in which it did not grant a patent to Novartis for a blockbuster drug after a long legal battle.

Swiss drug maker, Novartis faced a defeat in a patent issue as India's apex court dismissed its patent bid for a blockbuster cancer drug. The company condemned the decision by the Supreme Court of India to dismiss its patent application. The decision by the Supreme Court came after legal battle for seven years by the company to gain a patent protection for an updated version of leukemia drug Glivec in the country.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories have said that its board of directors have appointed G V Prasad as the new chairman of the Indian pharmaceutical giant.

G V Prasad, who is the son-in-law of Anji Reddy, has been working as the vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Prasad will continue to work as the CEO of the company.

The company has also said that it has appointed K Satish Reddy as the new vice-chairman and he will continue in his existing roles as managing director and chief operating officer.

Swiss drug maker, Novartis faced a defeat in a patent issue as India's apex court dismissed its patent bid for a blockbuster cancer drug.

The company condemned the decision by the Supreme Court of India to dismiss its patent application. The decision by the Supreme Court came after legal battle for seven years by the company to gain a patent protection for an updated version of leukemia drug Glivec in the country.