AFP Examines Expansion Of Indian Drug Companies In South Africa
Agence France-Presse examines how Indian drug companies have infiltrated the South African market over the last few years in an effort to have a broader reach in Africa. India's pharmaceutical industry is now the second largest in the world by volume, according to AFP.
"Unlike most multinational companies, India's 'big three' pharmaceuticals Ranbaxy, Cipla and Dr. Reddy's have carefully cultivated their local credentials by bringing South Africans into the top corporate echelons. ... Cheap generic drugs have been the catalysts of that growth, and Africa has been a key market, buying 14 percent of India's $8-billion pharmaceutical exports in 2009," the news service writes. "Ranbaxy and Cipla have also won fans by slashing the price of anti-AIDS drugs ... Providing discount generics has been big business and helped the Indian industry displace its Western rivals," the article notes (Berger, 5/22).
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