The Medicine Box

An Indian pharma company has rebranded itself after almost three decades, 27 years. A firm that is ranked fourth in the Indian pharma industry, fifth in the US generics market via prescriptions and has been at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 by introducing one of the cheapest versions of Remdesivir and more. The firm Cadila Healthcare (now known as Zydus Lifesciences) has many feathers on its hat, however, its challenges included the offtake of the COVID-19 vaccine and the long gestations and investments required to become an innovative company amid growing competition in the US. To discuss this and more, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra caught up with Zydus Lifesciences' managing director Sharvil Patel. Patel shares the significance of the new name, the firm's plans to be defined as a global life sciences company with a focus on innovation and its generics business. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more In case you have any queries or suggestions, please write to us at cnbctv18podcast@nw18.com

Pharma industry's Robinhood, Cipla is looking to increase its presence in the US market, the company's MD and Global CEO Umang Vohra. In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra talks to Vohra about Cipla's plan to capture a larger share of the US market, the firm's COVID-19 portfolio – from Tocilizumab to Remdesivir to Favipiravir, new products, growth outlook and more. Cipla, which is India's third largest pharma company and is present in more than 80 countries with over 46 manufacturing facilities, is looking to manufacture complex drugs and injectables in respiratory and cancer segments, Vohra said. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more 

Torrent, an over 60-year-old Indian pharma company, the flagship company of the Torrent Group, is most recognised for its strong domestic focus. It is the eighth largest player in India, with around 40 percent of its revenues from the domestic market. It has strengthened its presence with acquisitions in the past 10 years such as buying Elder Pharma's domestic business in 2014 for Rs 2000 crore and Unichem's domestic business in 2017 for Rs 3600 crore. Domestic market brands include Shelcal, Unienzyme and Nebicard. In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra gets in conversation with Torrent Pharma's ED Aman Mehta to know more about the company's outlook for growth on the domestic as well as the global front. The company expects underlying domestic growth in double digits whilst seeing quarterly blips. Cardiology is a focus area for the company, which is ranked second in the cardiac segment and expects to grow in double digits. One of its key brands, Shelcal has shown robust growth in the past few years with a focus on newer extensions in the brand. Outside of India, the company is looking at remediation measures for plants impacted by USFDA issues and anticipates a 10 percent price erosion in the US. The company has also recently entered newer markets such as Mexico. Overall, it expects margins to recover to 28-30 percent and is looking at mid sized acquisitions. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more

On this episode of The Medicine Box, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra gets in conversation with Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, head of Fortis Hospital, to discuss business returning to normal post-COVID-19, medical tourism, long COVID and more. Dr Raghuvanshi said the occupancy figure is expected to go to 70 percent within a month or two. He also mentioned that there is a well-identified clinical entity of long COVID-19, which is a post-COVID syndrome in which the effects of the virus linger on for weeks or months after a person has tested positive. Most hospitals have opened post-COVID-19 clinics, he said and added that mental health and chronic illness are areas that could see more virtual consults. Dr Raghuvanshi also discussed whether medical tourism will pick up in the near future and whether healthcare verticals such as home health and telemedicine are here to stay. He also talked about rising competition in the diagnostic space and what it means for Fortis's diagnostic arm SRL Diagnostics. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more In case you have any queries or suggestions, please write to us on cnbctv18podcast@nw18.com

Even as India is hailed as the ‘pharmacy of the world' for providing generic medicines and vaccines to nations across the globe, much remains to be done on the research and development and innovation front. But what does it take to become leaders in innovation, how can India replicate the generics feat in innovative drugs? In this episode of The Medicine Box season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra catches up with Dr Reddy's Laboratories' (DRL) co-chairman and MD, GV Prasad, who believes India has the potential to become a leader in innovation too. According to Prasad, innovation can not be seen as a natural progression from generics as the skills innovative companies require are different. Such firms need to make highly concentrated bets and therefore, the risk appetites are different as against makers of generic drugs, he said. DRL's MD pointed to financing as a huge challenge for innovation, which requires multiple factors to fall in place. “Innovation is a long-term game, sometimes takes decades,” he added. Prasad said early-stage innovation is thriving in India and as confidence builds, Indian companies will invest in Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more 

India's pharma market, which comprises chronic and acute medication, is poised for growth. The domestic market grew from $17 billion in FY17 to $21 billion in FY21. In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra speaks to Nikhil Chopra, the CEO of JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, about how big the chronic and acute market is in India, the competition from generic medicines, and the pharma firm's plans for the near future. According to Chopra, consumer awareness about wellness and immunity has risen in the past 24 months, the majority of which includes the COVID-19 pandemic period, he said. Acute therapy, which includes anti-infectives, gastro, vitamins, etc, saw a decline during the period as more people were indoors and hence fewer caught infections. Now, given a gradual return to normalcy, besides recovery in acute therapy, Chopra believes chronic therapies, which include medication for cardiovascular, metabolic diseases, etc., could grow and beat the domestic market growth. JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd generates 49 percent of its revenue from the domestic market and has outperformed the industry growing 14 percent in FY21 against the industry growth of 4 percent. The CEO said the company is beating the industry due to strong brands in the Indian market. And, it is looking to improve its ranking from its current 27th position in the domestic market. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more 

AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm that has become popular in India due to its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, has tied up with Bengaluru-based health-tech startup Tricog for Project Heartbeat in the country. In this edition of the Medicine Box season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra gets in conversation with Dr Anil Kukreja, Vice President, medical affairs and regulatory, AstraZeneca about the project that aims to ensure early and accurate diagnosis of possible heart attacks of patients in Tier 2 and 3 cities. Dr Kukreja noted early diagnosis and timely treatments are critical for heart attacks. With the project that has been piloted in eight hubs and 39 spokes across India, patients in Tier 2 city can have their electrocardiogram (ECG) test read by a qualified cardiologist. The tech for Project Heartbeat has been created with ECG machines and communicators. The communicator sends ECG reading to a cardiologist who provides the diagnosis in a matter of minutes, Dr Kukreja explained. “The focus is to reduce ‘Door to Needle' and ‘Door to Balloon' time,” the top AstraZeneca official said, adding that they are trying to train healthcare practitioners and technicians to ensure accurate medications in time. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast for more 

The Indian healthcare market is fragmented and has efficiency gaps. But, health technology is helping bridge this gap. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a fundamental behavioural change in India in terms of health technology, which means buying more medicines online, booking diagnostic tests, Teleconsultations, etc.  In this edition of the Medicine Box Podcast season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra catches up with Prashant Tandon, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata 1MG to discuss the Indian health tech market and its potential growth.  ​Health tech also comprises new technologies such as the Internet of things (IOT), artificial intelligence (AI), and data sciences, Tandon said, adding that data will be a huge part of health tech in the future. Pointing to digitisation of the entire value chain such as pharma and diagnostics, Tata 1MG founder said, COVID-19 led to a 3x rise in people transacting on digital health platforms. Tata 1 MG's traffic has risen to 150 million unique users vs 90 million users in FY20, he said. According to him, healthcare, as an ecosystem, is very profitable and digital will make it more efficient Tune in to Medicine Box Podcast to know more about B2C health tech market and what the future holds for it 

Twin Health, a US and India-based start-up, aims to reverse chronic metabolic diseases in patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol via their technology called the Whole Body Twin. The company has claimed its success rate in reversing diabetes is over 90 percent. In this edition of The Medicine Box podcast, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra speaks to CEO and Founder of Twin Health, Jahangir Mohammad, to find out all about the technology and how it helps patients.  Tune in to The Medicine Box podcast to know all about the Twin Health and their Whole Body Twin technology.

In a significant development this year, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted interchangeable status to two biosimilar drugs— Biocon's diabetes drug insulin glargine branded as Semglee and Boehringer Ingelheim's biosimilar Cyltezo. In this edition of The Medicine Box Podcast season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra talks to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the chairperson of Biocon, about Semglee, the first interchangeable biosimilar insulin product to have received approval from the US drug regulator for the treatment of diabetes. Interchangeability essentially means a pharmacist in the US can give a person the drug approved with an interchangeable status other than reference biologic on prescription.  The development possibly paves the way for more life-saving drugs seeing greater accessibility and reducing price. Shaw also talks about Cyltezo, which is the biosimilar version of one of the world's largest selling biologic drugs Humira, used for arthritis and other conditions. Tune in to The Medicine Box Podcast to find out more about interchangeable biosimilars, their competition, prices, and more.

The global vaccine industry has been stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic and Saumya Krishna of consulting firm Kearney estimates that the Indian vaccine industry can grow from $2 billion to $4-5 billion by 2025. In this edition of The Medicine Box season 5, CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra discusses with Krishna a report by Kearney in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The report highlights how ‘Make In India' can fuel 4x growth in biosimilars and vaccines by 2026. Moreover, India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world with more than 2500 biotech companies. Indian firms have already launched over 98 biosimilar drugs in the market. Krishna says the true opportunity for biologic drugs is in the global market and according to her billions worth of such drugs will go off patent in the next decade. Tune in to the Medicine Podcast t find out more about vaccines, and ways to transform India's biologics industry.

The Medicine Box season 5 is back following the COVID-19 hiatus and in the first episode CNBC-TV'18 Ekta Batra spoke to Managing Director of MSD India -- the Indian arm of Merck & Co in the US and Canada -- Rehan Khan about their vaccine that protects against the Human Papillomavirus or HPV, which causes cervical cancer in women. The vaccine that battles nine types of HPV viruses, has been made gender-neutral and can be administered to boys between 9 and 15 years of age, who could be at risk of developing cancer. Earlier, it was administered only to women. Tune in to The Medicine Box podcast to find out more about the HPV vaccine, which was first launched in 2015 in the US and has been approved in over 80 countries.

The podcast, hosted by CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra, and in association with OPPI, which represents research-based pharmaceutical companies in India, has six episodes. The third episode features N Rajaram, Boar Member OPPI and managing director of Sanofi India. He discusses public-private partnerships in healthcare and shares vital insights on how one can deliver better health outcomes. Tune in!

In the latest series of The Medicine Box, top executives of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and India-based MNCs speak on a range of topics related to the pharma and healthcare industry. The podcast, hosted by CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra, and in association with OPPI, which represents research-based pharmaceutical companies in India, will have six episodes. In the second episode of the series, Ekta chats with A Vaidheesh, OPPI president, and managing director, India of Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited. Vaidheesh discusses India's Missing Middle, in the context of Ayushman Bharat & healthcare financing in the country. Listen to him share his thoughts on the current healthcare financing models in India, the need for change and solutions such as increasing insurance coverage. Tune in!

The Indian pharmaceutical industry, which is expected to touch $130 billion by 2030, is the largest provider of generic medicines globally, producing 20 percent of world's medicines. India, called ‘pharmacy to the world', is the source of 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories and home to 3,000 pharma companies with a network of more than 10,500 manufacturing facilities. Despite these promising statistics, the country's healthcare sector is not in the pink of health. The challenges include skyrocketing out-of-pocket expenditure, pricing of patented drugs, spurious medications and regulatory loopholes.

The guest on today's The Medicine Box podcast is Nimish Mehta, founder of pharma- and health-focused advisory Research Delta Advisors. Nimish's experience in the pharma space spans more than two decades including consulting and advisory on M&A, exit, entry decisions. He joins in today to discuss what a Para IV is and he lists out any potential Para IV opportunities he foresees for specific pharma companies.

Wolters Kluwer is an IT company with a very strong focus on healthcare. Its app called UpToDate is used by more than 50,000 doctors, multiple hospitals and medical colleges. The app helps provide information and support to clinicians to make better decisions. The company has partnerships with the likes of AIIMs, CMC Vellore, KEM Mumbai, etc. In the latest episode of #TheMedicineBox, Shireesh Sahai, CEO of Wolters Kluwer, discusses his app with Ekta Batra. 

In this episode of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Sujay Shetty of PwC who leads Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences segment at PWC India and has over 20 years of experience in the pharma and medical devices industry in India, the UK and South East Asia.    #TheMedicineBox on CNBCTV18.com aims to give you an insight on all things pharma and health – from discussing trends in the industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts. In this series, Batra talks to Shetty about the emerging trends in the pharma and healthcare space such as cost containment, M&A opportunities, capex and outlook on the US markets.

In this first episode of the fourth series of the #TheMedicineBox, Ekta Batra talks to Kapil Khandelwal of Toro Finserve LLP.  Khandelwal shares anecdotes from his 25 years' experience in the healthcare sector, talks about global transactions such as the entry of John Hopkins in Saudi Aramco and answers questions on why such transactions don't take place in India. He also shares his perspective on the Indian healthcare space, on possibility of consolidation and further growth.    The Medicine Box on CNBCTV18.com aims to give you an insight on all things pharma and health – from discussing trends in industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts. And in the fourth series of the #TheMedicineBox we get a mix of industry and analyst opinion. 

Pharmaceutical sector is coming out of a challenging time and the road to recovery will be uneven, says Anmol Ganjoo, director, JM Financial Institutional Securities in this episode of The Medicine Box.

Financial year ended March 31, 2018, was one of the worst years for pharmaceutical companies as the sector saw a 50 percent cut in its earnings. In this episode of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Deepak Mallik, research analyst, and associate director, Institutional Equities – Research, Edelweiss on the future of the pharma sector's earnings. He believes biologics and complex chemistry will dominate the pharma sector over the next 5 years.

In this episode of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Anshuman Gupta of Investec. He is cautious on the pharma sector and believes the recovery is going to be slow. #TheMedicineBox on CNBCTV18.com aims to give you an insight on all things pharma and health – from discussing trends in the industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts. In this series, Batra talks to the top sell-side analysts covering the pharma and healthcare sector. They share their views on the big emerging trends, the big growth markets, R&D and more.

The US pharmaceutical market has gone through a structural change. Analysts expect growth of this sector in the US to moderate at around 2 or 3 percent per year as against 8 to 9 percent seen earlier. In this episode, Ekta Batra discusses the pharmaceutical market with Chirag Talati, associate director, Kotak Securities.  #TheMedicineBox on CNBCTV18.com aims to give you an insight into all things pharma and health – from discussing trends in the industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts. The third series of #TheMedicineBox focuses on pharmaceutical space. In this series, Batra talks to the top sell-side analysts covering the pharma and healthcare sector. They share their views on the big emerging trends, the big growth markets, R&D, and more.

In this episode of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Prashant Nair, deputy head of research, Citi. They talk on emerging trends in the pharma sector, growth drivers and the issues plaguing the sector like US price pressure, among others. The Medicine Box aims to give you an insight into all things pharma and health – from discussing trends in the industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts.

Themedicinebox podcast gives you vital insights on all things pharma and health — from discussing trends in the industry to key issues in health with all the relevant experts. The third series focuses on the top sell-side analysts covering the pharma and healthcare sector. They share their views on the big emerging trends, the big growth markets, R&D and more. In the first episode, Sameer Baisiwala, executive director and senior analyst at Morgan Stanley, shares details about the global investment firm's latest global insight report on biosimilars– Infancy to Youth. What are the opportunities and threats to the global biosimilar market? Morgan Stanley believes the US and EU biosimilar markets will grow nearly 10 times to $13.3 billion by 2025 from 2018, a 24 percent CAGR. Where does India figure in the biosimilar opportunity? Jump right in!

Holistic lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho, along with his team of doctors and nutritionists, designs wellness plans with a holistic approach to reduce weight, disease management, complemented with an expertise in cancer care.  He is the author of three books, including a collaboration with actress Shilpa Shetty on ‘The Great Indian Diet'. Coutinho is the architect of the #GetHealthIndia Campaign, a free platform to create awareness on health and wellness.  In this episode of the podcast, he weighs in on integrative and lifestyle medicine.  Tune in right way to feel better.

What should one do about obesity? Though a growing menace, very little is known about excess weight and its harmful effects, including gynecologic malignancy. Dr. Jagannath Dixit, of ‘The Dixit Diet' fame, is a professor and head of department of community medicine at Govt Medical College, Latur. He is the author of two books and has published more than 40 research articles in medical journals. Dr. Dixit has initiated the World Free of Obesity and Diabetes Campaign and is the brand ambassador for its Fight Obesity campaign by Government of Maharashtra. In this episode of the podcast, he provides vital insights on obesity and its risks. Tune in right away!

Dr Amy Shah is a US-based wellness and nutrition expert. She discusses some of her key philosophies such as combining east and west philosophies in health in this edition of the podcast. Dr Shah, who holds medical degrees from Cornell, Albert Einstien New York, Harvard and Columbia, shares her insights on the concept of fasting and the importance of your gut in your overall health.  Listen in!

Dr Nikhil Dhurandhar is a physician and an obesity researcher in the US. Currently, he is a professor and the chairman of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University. He is also the man responsible for Aamir Khan's physical transformation in the Bollywood biopic movie Dangal. In this edition of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Dhurandhar on his book Fat-Loss Diet and why he thinks obesity is a disease and talks about his key philosophies towards health, wellness and obesity. Tune in to know more!

Dr Vishaka Shivdasani who specialises in treating lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity via medicine and nutrition weighs in with her insights. Dr Shivdasani has been writing a monthly column for the newspaper Mint for the past 7 years and is the former vice president of South Bombay Medical Association of Doctors. Who should follow the Keto diet? Is it safe and sustainable? Tune in right away! The second series of #TheMedicinebox delves deeper into the health, nutrition and wellness. The podcast series looks to provide solutions to tackle lifestyle-related diseases and shed light on other health- and wellness-related topics. What is the Keto Diet? What really is fasting and what are its benefits? How harmful are sugar and junk food? What is the best form of exercise? What should one do about obesity? All these questions and more on health, nutrition and wellness are answered here. We host some of the biggest global and Indian names in nutrition and wellness to bust myths, provide solutions and answer the most vital questions in health.

The second series of #TheMedicinebox will delve deeper into the health, nutrition and wellness. The podcast series will look to provide solutions to tackle lifestyle related diseases and shed light on other health- and wellness-related topics.  What is the Keto Diet? What really is fasting and what are its benefits? How harmful is sugar and junk food? What is the best form of exercise? What should one do about obesity? All these questions and more on health, nutrition and wellness will be answered here.  We will host some of the biggest global and Indian names in nutrition and wellness to bust myths, provide solutions and answer the most vital questions in health.  We are kicking off the series with Dr Robert Lustig, professor emeritus of the paediatrics division of Endocrinology at University of California. Dr Lustig, who holds degrees from MIT, Cornell University, is one of the most popular voices globally on the detrimental impact of sugar on health.  His lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth went viral and currently has 7.9 million views on YouTube. The best-selling author of Fat Chance and The Hacking of the America Mind discusses the harmful effects of sugar in your diet and consequently on health.  Happy listening!

Ravi Dharamshi is CIO of Valuequest Investment Advisors and manages investments of around Rs 500 crore. In his role, Dharamshi is sector agnostic but has a long history with pharma. He began investing in pharma and healthcare stocks back in 2002 and worked previously with Rare Enterprises. Some of his key bets in pharma have included Lupin, Glenmark, Natco and Divi's. Tune into Dharamshi's journey of investing in pharma and healthcare stocks, how the landscape has changed and his take on top industry trends and stocks. Happy listening!

Sailesh Bhan, CIO, equity investments at Reliance Mutual Fund, manages equity assets worth over Rs 22,000 crore across various funds. He puts on his pharma hat and discusses his thoughts on the most crucial trends in the industry.

Aditya Khemka, fund Manager at DSP Investment Managers, breaks down the pharma sector from a portfolio perspective. Khemka, who was previously with Glenmark and tracked the pharma and health sectors at Lehman Brothers and Nomura, provides crucial insights into the big risks, challenges and opportunities of investing in pharma stocks. Happy listening!

Does the issue of multiple observations to a plant site by the US drug regulator USFDA mean it will get a Warning Letter? Why is it that some companies that are issued just a few observations get Import Alerts? Why do some companies take years to solve USFDA regulatory problems? Does India face a ‘culture' problem when it comes to lack of compliance? Amit Rajan, an expert on quality and compliance issues, answers these and many more questions on a critical part of the operations of pharma companies in this week's podcast. He breaks down the basics of Form 483s, EIRs and the FDA. Tune in!

The year 2018 has been a mixed year for Indian pharma stocks. Price pressure may have eased in the US, but other challenges, especially the Chinese API supply, have emerged. American regulator USFDA is still hot on the heels of many companies. Who better than Saion Mukherjee, managing Director and head of equity research at Nomura, to shed light on these vital topics. He also breaks down pharma earnings, the most important current and future trends and stocks. Tune in right away!

The Indian pharmaceuticals space's growth has been severely hobbled by acute pricing pressure in the US generics market. The next leg of growth will be defined by companies that focus on high margins and complex drugs like biosimilars. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD of Biocon, was instrumental in putting India on the biosimilar map. In the first episode of **#TheMedicineBox**, Shaw breaks down the world of biosimilars and the opportunity it presents. Shaw also weighs in on the vital challenges in the Indian pharma space. Happy Listening!