SAILIFE

Corrects paragraph 14 to say India has "committed" not "invested" $2.86 billion

By Rishika Sadam, Kashish Tandon and Bhanvi Satija

HYDERABAD Feb 27 (Reuters) - India's contract drug makers have urged the government to remove regulatory hurdles and grant faster clearance to vital raw material imports at a time when many global pharmaceutical firms are counting on the nation to reduce their reliance on China.

India's Contract Research Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CRDMO) sector is at an inflection point, with the potential to grow seven-fold to $22 billion-$25 billion by 2035, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group.

Globally, the market stands at $140 billion-$145 billion.

"The government has to understand that this industry has potential, if not scale, right now," Krishna Kanumuri, CEO and managing director at Sai Life Sciences SAIE.NS, said at an event earlier this week.

India's contract drug manufacturers have gained from global companies' efforts to diversify their supply chain after the pandemic and a U.S. bill that would prohibit federal contracts with certain Chinese biotech firms on national security grounds.

However, India's policies are yet to play catch-up.

For instance, prolonged approval times and regulatory demands tied to certain raw material imports meant Indian firms often require eight to 15 days to initiate projects, while their Chinese peers could do it within three days, according to Vikash Aggarwala, MD and Partner at BCG's healthcare practice.

Industry insiders pushed for more business-friendly policies in the world's fifth-largest economy, which is heavily dependent on China for drug-related raw materials.

Piramal Pharma's PIRM.NS Chairperson Nandini Piramal lamented the lack of customs warehouses at the right locations and related logistics costs, a dearth of cold storage units, and delays tied to the clearance of certain raw material imports.

"All of those, I think, add more friction to the ease of doing business," Piramal told Reuters.

Some others highlighted the delay in approvals due to the lack of a centralized, digital, single-window clearance system.

Syngene's SYNN.NS CEO-designate Peter Bains said the "friction and delay" could be compressed, highlighting it was "a disadvantage that India has against other jurisdictions".

India's health and finance ministries did not respond to Reuters requests seeking comment.

The country, which offers cheap labour and a large talent pool, has already committed over $2.86 billion in the local biotech industry, according to the BCG report. But industry insiders are urging for more.

"I would really pitch for a CRDMO park... with policies where you don't have to go and get permissions from the local drug controller for making changes, where there are easy export and import capabilities," Aragen Life Sciences CEO Manni Kantipudi said.

($1 = 87.3900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam, Kashish Tandon and Bhanvi Satija; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

Adds details paragraph 2 onwards

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Indian contract drugmaker Anthem Biosciences filed for a 33.95-billion-rupee ($397 million) initial public offering, draft papers showed on Tuesday, at the fag end of what has been a red-hot year for companies listing on the stock market.

Anthem, whose services include early-stage drug discovery and drug efficacy testing, said private equity firm True North and drugmaker DavosPharma are among investors who will sell shares in the IPO.

The company will not sell any shares and it did not give any other details on the offering.

The Indian IPO market has been bustling this year, with over 300 companies having raised $17.5 billion as of mid-December, more than double the amount raised last year, LSEG data showed.

That gives it the top spot globally in terms of proceeds and volumes, according to consultancy firm KPMG.

Anthem, which began operations in 2007 and has two manufacturing facilities, is also going public at a time when global drugmakers are turning to India and other markets to limit their reliance on Chinese contractors.

Begaluru-based Anthem also makes active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), which are the main component of a drug, as well as dietary supplements and probiotics.

It competes with the likes of Syngene International SYNN.NS, Divi's Laboratories DIVI.NS and newly-listed Sai Life Sciences SAIE.NS among Indian API makers.

($1 = 85.5720 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

** Shares of One MobiKwik Systems ONEM.NS gain 8.3% to 572 rupees

** Stock surged 86% in trading debut on Wednesday to 518 rupees vs offer price of 279 rupees, valuing the fintech firm at $474 mln

** ONEM only stock among the three listed on Wed to extend gains on Thurs

** ONEM's peers in listing, budget retailer Vishal Mega Mart VSSL.NS and drugmaker Sai Life Sciences SAIE.NS, down 2% each

** ONEM's $67 mln IPO was subscribed 120 times last week with bids worth $4.7 bln

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of TPG-backed drugmaker Sai Life Sciences SAIE.NS rise 28% to 706.4 rupees in debut trade

** Shares priced at 650 rupees vs offer price of 549 rupees

** SAIE's $353 mln IPO was subscribed 10.3 times last week

** Co benefits from robust product pipeline and serves over 280 clients - KR Choksey Research analysts

** However, significant reliance on key clients, limited diversification across treatment areas and high infrastructure costs pose risks to sustained profitability, brokerage says

** SAIE aims to use IPO proceeds for purposes including repayment or prepayment of outstanding borrowings

** Fintech firm One MobiKwik Systems ONEM.NS and budget retailer Vishal Mega Mart VSSL.NS, which also debuted today, up 77% and 37%, respectively

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))