MUMBAI: Private equity (PE) investors are betting on Indian drug makers that manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), even as uncertainty over covid-19 has slowed down investments.
This as the government looks to push local manufacturing of pharmaceutical ingredients, making India an alternative supplier to global drug makers hit by factory shutdowns in China.
API is the raw material that gives any medicine its therapeutic effect. “We are already seeing a disruption in the pharma market as many countries, including India, are taking active steps to reduce their dependence on China, the largest manufacturer of APIs," said Amit Varma, managing partner and co-founder of Quadria Capital, one of Asia's largest healthcare PE firms.