Biocon head Kiran Mazumdar Shaw warns of India walk-out

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Hyderabad: Even as loss of contract production orders, hike in energy costs, rising inflation and mounting debts have impacted the Indian pharma industry, Biocon has said that the “regulatory understanding around drug innovation is woefully inadequate and hence, makes it challenging to do anything in a timely manner.”Tweeting this on her Twitter handle “@kiranshaw”, Biocon chairman and MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said: “If things don’t improve on the regulatory front in terms of drug innovation, I will have take this out of the country.” Shaw has earlier said that India’s innovation has always been difficult and it that was tough to get regulatory approvals.Biocon had earlier indicated that it is looking to tap emerging markets like Malaysia where it plans to set up a plant in 2014, even before entering regulated markets by 2015.   In the backdrop of the USFDA crackdown on Ranbaxy and Wockhardt (in May this year), the problems for drugmakers only seem to be mounting.Experts say that the pharma industry has been bearing the brunt of high dollar rates, Drug Price Control Order 2013, fixed dose combination issues, land acquisition and hostile global regulatory environment.With pharma companies meddling the pressure to lower drug prices on one side and increasing expenses on the other, the regulatory challenges only add to their existing woes.