While the jury is still out on dexamethasone being the new hero in the fight against COVID-19 after the hype around hydroxychloroquine has died down, Indian pharma is watching developments closely. Gains of companies like Zydus Cadila, Wockhardt, Cadila and Cipla in the domestic market will be constrained by price caps while any increase in exports will depend on emergency use authorizations.

While the jury is still out on dexamethasone being the new hero in the fight against COVID-19 after the hype around hydroxychloroquine has died down, Indian pharma is watching developments closely. Gains of companies like Zydus Cadila, Wockhardt, Cadila and Cipla in the domestic market will be constrained by price caps while any increase in exports will depend on emergency use authorizations

Cadila Healthcare has launched a generic version of Astellas/Pfizer’s prostate cancer therapy Xtandi in India at a sharp discount of 70-90% to existing brands and hopes the lower financial burden on patients will aid adherence.

Indian manufacturers hope increased production of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol, along with emergence of reliable COVID-19 therapies, will lead to export restrictions on these two medicines being removed soon. Meanwhile, they are fulfilling orders routed through the government.