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.
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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.