New York, Nov 21: India, long treated with suspicion by international drug companies because of its lax patent-protection laws, is looking newly attractive because of tighter laws, a vast potential market and a highly skilled, low-cost work force. Indian arms of multinational firms such as Pfizer Inc., Novartis and Aventis, which were slow to introduce new drugs in the domestic market in past years, are keenly awaiting a new law, set to take effect in 2005, that will prevent companies from freely copying patented drugs in the $6 billion market. Meanwhile, Indian companies such as Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, are adjusting to the new law by producing generics and bulk drugs for the overseas market and investing in research to develop new ways to deliver old medicines or develop new compounds.

"A select group of Indian pharma companies are positioned to become global competitors, and are likely to become low-cost suppliers of bulk and formulations worldwide," said Viren Mehta, a principal of New York-based health-care research firm Mehta Partners.
The buzz has already lifted India's drug sector index more than 60 percent so far this year, outpacing the overall market's, which has gained more than 40 percent in the same period. Bureau Report