Ranbaxy mulls investment in health sector in Punjab

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd is contemplating an investment of $500-600 million in the healthcare services in Punjab.

Stating this, CEO and Managing Director of the company Malvinder Mohan Singh said it might be invested in the form of public-private partnership in various segments of healthcare like research and development, medical education, pharmaceutical education, hospitals and health centres.

"We want the health facilities easily accessible to the masses and would initiate the process from Punjab," he added.

Ranbaxy is also coming up with a pharmaceutical special economic zone (SEZ), with an investment of about Rs 265 crore in an area of 80 acre in Sector 76 of the industrial estate in Mohali.

Singh said the dosage-form capacity of 10 million tables would be ready for commercial production in two years at the Mohali SEZ. "This would be a state-of-the-art facility which even developed countries would like to emulate", he added.

He said the Indian pharma industry was making a substantial contribution in the R&D of the country and 50 per cent of the R&D investment in the country was done in the pharma sector. "Ranbaxy Laboratory alone contributes 10 per cent of the total R&D carried out on India".

He blamed the distribution system of India for the plight of health services offered to the economically weaker sections of the society. "We developed an iron supplement for the pregnant women that costs Re 1 per tablet but the needy people don't have an access to it".

The investment by the pharma company has drastically brought down the prices of many products. According to Singh, India is the cheapest drug market in the world.

He said Ranbaxy was able to make a mark in the global market due to its perseverance, technology, speed and cost. He said the consolidation in the pharma industry was on the anvil. "The global companies are now keen to partner Indian firms due to their core competencies and strength."

Singh ruled out any kind of incentive needed for the industrial development of pharma industry in the state.