Develop entire value chain: Dr Reddy's MD tells pharma companies

US-China trade war is going to give us a window of opportunity to expand our industry, says G V Prasad

Indian pharmaceutical companies need to undertake both backward and forward integration in the aftermath of US-China trade tensions, says G V Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Also chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry's national committee on pharmaceuticals, he spoke on the issue in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Indian companies have been dependent on drug intermediates produced by Chinese firms, owing to the latter's cheaper prices. However, says Prasad, the situation has changed with the American government's tough stance on Chinese products; also, from the shutting down by China itself of low-value and highly polluting chemical and intermediate manufacturing