Concerned about the impact that the increasing take-overs of leading Indian pharmaceutical firms by multinational companies can make on the domestic sector and the affordable medicines, the Health Ministry is planning to call a meeting of the pharma industry on the matter.

With the trend of Indian firms going into the hands of the multinationals getting stronger, the health ministry is apprehensive that even the branded generic medicines may go costlier for the patients in the country which depended largely on the generic supply. On the other hand, the government has been taking several measures to encourage generics, especially the unbranded generics, to make them affordable for the larger section of the people.

The meeting is an attempt by the ministry to find out the reasons behind the trend and to initiate steps, if needed, to overcome the impact of such take-overs, sources said. Besides the industry associations in the pharma sector, the captains of the industry in general and those from the recently-sold out companies in particular will be invited for the meeting.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad himself had expressed concerns on the trend. "It's a worrying trend because 95 per cent of the medicines used in India are generics made here. If such acquisitions continue, multinationals will gain market supremacy and people may have to pay through their noses for essential medicine," he said recently. "Branded medicines cost between four and six times more than generic ones. People should have the option of buying cheaper, good quality unbranded medicine. States have been requested to do the same," said Azad.

Since 2008, some of the big names of Indian pharma industry have gone into the hands of the multinationals. The market witnessed acquisitions of Piramal Healthcare by Abbott Labs, Ranbaxy by Daiichi Sankyo, Shantha Biotech by sanofi-aventis and Dabur Pharma by Fresenuis Kabi.

Reports said with the buy-out, Abbot would take the leading position in the domestic market. In the case of other acquisitions also, some of the blockbuster generic products have gone into the portfolio of the multinationals. What is more worrying is that with take-overs of Indian firms and their leading generic products, the multinationals will see better prospects for their branded products, according to observers.