Coronavirus: Paracetamol price rises by 40% in India due to shut down in China

New Delhi, Feb 18: In the wake of the deadly Coronavirus outbreak, India is facing the ripple effects of total shutdowns in China with production of medicines to mobile phones.
Reportedly, the prices of the the most commonly used drug, paracetamol risen by 40% in India.

According to Pankaj R Patel, chairman of Zydus Cadila, the cost of the antibiotic, azithromycin that is used for treating a variety of bacterial infections has risen by 70%.

It is said that if the supplies aren't restored by the first week of March, than the pharma industry could face shortages in finished drug formulations from starting April.

The fatal coronavirus has killed over 1,000 people in China.

Patel also added that he has observed a substantial increase in prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

One of the largest suppliers of generic drugs across the world is India.

India is also the home to around 12% of all manufacturing sites catering to the US market, relies on China for as much as 80% of API requirement, as per report.