Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Pharma plans to cease production at its sole facility in India, located in Bangalore, as part of a "global strategic review." The company, which generates over £ 100 million in revenue annually, believes that outsourcing its core manufacturing function to a contract manufacturer can increase shareholder value, people familiar with the matter said.
When contacted, a company spokesperson said: “This is our only manufacturing site in India, and it mainly caters to primary care products for the domestic market. We are committed to advancing access to innovative medicines in India, with a clear ambition to be pioneers in science, lead in specialist disease areas, and transform patient outcomes.''
This action reflects a trend in which multinational corporations are feeling the heat in the fiercely competitive domestic pharmaceutical sector, which is dominated by Indian giants. Local businesses have expanded at a rate that is almost twice as fast as that of multinational corporations (MNCs), who have restructured their operations by selling their brands domestically or by lowering their exposure and sales force. A few of them also left the nation's research and development sector.
AstraZeneca India stated that, pending the acquisition of the required statutory approvals, it will put the manufacturing site up for sale in a fully operational manner and start looking for a buyer who can also serve as a contract manufacturing organisation for the company's products that are currently produced or packaged at this site.