CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

A BIG TRANSFORMATION IS HAPPENING IN THE GLOBAL GENERIC PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY. AS A RESULT, STOCKS OF MOST MAJOR DRUG COMPANIES HAVE DONE BADLY IN THE PAST ONE YEAR.

AMAL K. SHARMA, Advisor and former vice chairman of India’s second-largest drug company, Lupin Ltd., uses the transformation of India’s two-wheeler market to explain the ongoing global disruption that is giving the country’s pharmaceutical companies a hard time.

“When our roads were bad, the Bajaj Chetak scooter became a hit. Over the years, motorcycles gained popularity, and when roads became better and more motorable, electric scooters became popular and obliterated many popular scooter/motorcycle brands and models. Value migration happens in every industry at some point or the other. The generic industry is going through such a transition,” he says.

That is why the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector –