- Half the world’s cotton may come from
GM crops’
June 21
More than half the world’s cotton may be grown from genetically
modified (GM) crops within two years as farmers in India and Brazil
embrace the technology that promises to raise incomes and boost
output, Rabobank Groep said.
Increased usage of Monsanto Co’s Bollgard II and other gene-altered
varieties may propel the proportion of cotton grown from biotech
crops to more than 50% by 2006-07 from about 35% now, Utrecht, Netherlands-based
Rabobank said in an e-mailed report on Monday.
Scientists have developed cotton varieties that repel grubs and
other pests, requiring less pesticide. A smaller chemical bill can
lower farmers’ costs of production, boosting their incomes.
Rising sales of the biotechnology in countries such as Brazil may
bolster supplies amid a global glut of the fiber. “The expansion
of GM production, particularly in regions which already operate
under a fairly low-cost production system, will have long-term implications
upon the marginal cost of production and, subsequently, prices,”
Rabobank said in a May cotton industry report.
Prices on the New York Board of Trade, the world’s biggest
cotton futures market, slumped 40% last year after larger crops
in the US and China swelled global supplies. Global output may exceed
consumption by 2.5 million tonne in the year ending July 31, according
to the US Department of Agriculture.
India, the world’s third-largest cotton-grower, planted 550,000
hectare (1.36 million acre) of biotech crops last year, up 460%
from a year earlier, Rabobank said.
“Some estimates indicate that this area may officially double
in 2005-06 to 1 million hectare and, coupled with a higher proportion
of better performing seeds, there is talk of India surpassing US
production in the near future to become the second-largest cotton
producer globally behind China,” the bank said.
St Louis-based Monsanto, the world’s biggest developer of genetically
modified crops, said May 19 that it expects to sell enough biotech
cotton in India to plant 2.5 million acre, double last year’s
sales.
Monsanto’s Bollgard seeds contain a protein from a soil microbe
called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, that protects the crop from
bollworms. “Bollgard II technology offers cotton growers efficient,
effective pest control with fewer pesticide applications than in
conventional cotton crops,” Monsanto said.
URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=94458
- India for fivefold biotech expansion
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
NEW DELHI: India plans to expand its biotechnology sector by fivefold
over the next five years as part of an ambitious strategy outlined
at BIO 2005, the world's largest biotech conference. Steps under
consideration range from new financial incentives for scientific
entrepreneurs to industry-friendly regulations for testing drugs
on animals and people.
Kapil Sibal, India's science minister, launched the government's
strategy - intended to make India as successful in the life sciences
as it has been in software and information technology. It will require
substantial investment by foreign companies attracted by India's
skilled scientific workforce and lower costs than in the west.
Gautam Thapar, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry
biotechnology committee, said the plan showed the government was
listening to industry and working with it, rather than at cross
purposes as so often in the past.
The policy will introduce new tax incentives and grants for entrepreneurs
starting or expanding biotech companies. The government's Department
of Biotechnology aims to create and support at least 10 biotech
parks with incubator units by 2010.
These will be promoted by a new Biotechnology Parks Society of India
modeled on the Software Technology Parks of India, which did a lot
to smooth the path of foreign IT companies to the country.
On the regulatory front, a crucial change in policy will allow companies
for the first time to test drugs on "large animals" such
as dogs. Indian authorities have restricted animal testing to rodents
- a serious handicap, given that most regulatory authorities such
as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration require new drugs to be
tested for toxic effects on at least one non-rodent species.
The revenues of India's biotechnology sector grew by 37 percent
to $1.1 billion in 2004-05.
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownewsdata.asp?newsno=28525&newscat=Technology
- Pharma companies in India zoom in on Brazil
market’
OUR CORPORATE BUREAU
Mumbai, June 22
Brazil’s $8 billion pharmaceutical market is a hot destination
for Indian companies owing to its high price structure and dearth
of domestic companies. Strides Arcolab, which is planning a merger
with Matrix Laboratories, has emerged the number one Indian player
in this market with a market share of $48 million, with majors like
Ranbaxy and Torrent in tow, said the company’s managing director
Arun Kumar at the company’s AGM here on Wednesday.
Speaking on the merger, Mr Kumar said that the new company, Matrix
Strides Ltd, will be 100% export-oriented, but may examine an Indian
acquisition to sell products in India in the future.
The proposed merger will make the combined entity a fully integrated
company with capabilities in both raw materials and finished goods.
The new entity will have revenues of Rs 2,500 crore, making it the
fifth largest pharma company in India after Ranbaxy, Sun, Cipla
and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
The merged entity will also be the fourth largest manufacturer of
AIDS drugs in the country, alongwith Cipla, Ranbaxy and Aurobindo
Pharma.
Although AIDS drugs form only 5 % of Matrix and Strides combined
revenue, it is expected to go up in the near future.
URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=94558
- US approves Indian AIDS drugs
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005 06:47:19 AM
WASHINGTON: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved
generic versions of two major AIDS drugs made by Indian pharma companies,
marking a shift in Washington's approach to fighting the worldwide
scourge and a new dynamic with the Indian drug industry.
The FDA announced Monday that it had "tentatively" approved
nevirapine tablets which is manufactured by Ranbaxy Laboratories
Limited, Gurgaon, and Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Hyderabad.
Nevirapine is the first generic versions of Viramune Tablets made
originally by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Last week, the FDA had similarly approved Lamivudine, an antiretroviral
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NRTIs) that stops the
HIV from infecting uninfected cells in the body.
Lamuvudine, which is also manufactured by the two Indian drug companies,
is the first generic version of brand name drug Combivir made by
GlaxoSmithKline.
These are the first India-made anti-AIDS drugs to win FDA approval.
Earlier this year, the FDA had approved an antiretroviral drug regimen
manufactured by Aspen Pharmacare of South Africa, making it the
first non-U.S.-based generic pharmaceutical company to win such
a clearance.
The FDA said its tentative approval means that although existing
patents and/or exclusivity prevent the marketing of Aurobindo’s
and Ranbaxy’s products in the United States, "these products
meet all of FDA's quality, safety and efficacy standards required
for marketing in the United States."
For now though, the drugs are eligible to be considered for purchase
and use outside the United States. In the immediate context, they
will be available for purchase under the President Bush's $15 billion
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The US approval comes amid efforts by New Delhi to push for a common
protocol between the FDA and Indian government drug regulation agency
which will allow Indian drug companies to have their products approved
in India for sale in the US instead of having to wait for separate
FDA clearance.
In recent weeks, India's Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Science
and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal have both held talks with US
officials to arrive at such an agreement.
Both ministers said Washington has has been positive to their proposals
but a lot more groundwork needs to be done for the deal to materialize.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1149041.cms
|
