s

1
The Editorial Contents
Address,
Ayurveda has been the ‘wealth’ of India, in the literal sense, for
over thousands of years now. Its contribution to medicine has
• Cover Story 3
been unfathomable & cannot be overlooked by the Healthcare -- Going back to the roots?
industry as a whole. Considering this, we dedicate the
September ‘10 issue of The PUMBA Gazette to Ayurvedic
medicine. • Article 4
The students of PUMBA conducted a survey to find out the -- Ayurveda:A sustainable industry?
preference of the general public in Pune for Ayurvedic or
Allopathic medicine and the reasons for the same.
• ‘INNOV’ERA 5
An article on Ayurveda’s contribution to the healthcare
industry & its sustainability aspects has also been included.
-- ‘Flu Stop’
st
We also present to you 1 of the series ‘Innov’Era, which • The Industry Buzz 6
includes a brief account of some of the breakthrough products
in the Biotechnology sector. This issue, addressing the need of -- Capping the drug prices
the hour, covers the Swine flu vaccine.
-- Sun Pharma wins Taro battle
In the BT news section, the burning issue of soaring drug prices
has been discussed, along with an overview of the popular Sun
Pharma - Taro Pharmaceuticals battle.
• Candid Talk 7
Another section includes an interview with Mr. S. D.
-- Tête-à-tête with Ayurveda
Dharmadhikari, Senior Sales Manager at Akshaya Remedies, on
Ayurvedic products & their impact on the Nutraceutical • PUMBA News 8
industry.
-- Chapter Meet 2010
A section upon the recent happenings in PUMBA – PUMBA
News - has been also included. -- Pune police interns PUMBA
“Determine that the thing can and shall be done, -- Industry speaks in PUMBA
and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

Sincerely Yours,
Chief Editor: Radhika Agarwal, MBA-BT (Sem III)
(The PUMBA Gazette Team)
Your feedback and suggestions are welcome at
thepumbagazette@gmail.com.
(The detailed project report shall be provided on enquiry.
Kindly send in your enquiries at thepumbagazette@gmail.com)

2

GOING BACK TO THE ROOTS?
It is said that, as compared to fellow countries India suffers
more due to world's ignorance of her achievements than due
to the absence of the same. India's achievements in the field of
medicine are a prime example of this situation. Ayurveda, the
traditional science of Indian medicine had been overlooked in
the wake of modern medicinal technology and processes.
However, recently Ayurveda has found acceptance not only in
the domestic markets but also internationally. The PUMBA
Gazette team undertook a survey to find out the preference of
the general public for Ayurvedic or Allopathic medicine
systems. They tried to unravel the reasons of preference across
the demographics of Pune. In addition, they analyzed whether
there is disease-specific preference for a particular type of
treatment system considering the common ailments, beauty-
care, minor cuts and bruises and overall fitness. The survey also
meant to understand the level of faith that people have in
Ayurveda’s capability to have solutions to major diseases like
Cancer and HIV AIDS. The sample included males and females
from three age groups viz. 15-25 years, 25-55 years and 55-75
years.
As expected, it was found that majority (nearly 54%) of people
prefer Allopathic medicine system for their regular needs and
sometimes use Ayurvedic system. This was due to attributes
such as availability, instant relief, cost and prior experience.
However, it is the reverse with about 18% who prefer
Ayurvedic medicine system, the reason being side effects of
Allopathic medicine. Looking at the rest, we can say, rather
than going for a single medicine system, people prefer
combination of two or more. Thus, across different age groups
of both male and female, people prefer Allopathic system to
treat common ailments.
HAIR AND SKIN RELATED PROBLEMS: Home remedies came
out to be the preference for skin lightening purpose in both
men and women. It is evident from the graph above that, for
treatment of different types of hair problems, both the genders
prefer Ayurvedic system. For acne treatment, males rely upon
Allopathy whereas females rely on the traditional Ayurvedic
knowledge. It has filtered into Indian households over time and
formed the basis of herbal and home remedies.
DENTAL HYGIENE: Most of the males and most females use
regular toothpastes for dental hygiene, but with age there is an
increase in use of herbal toothpastes. Males from the age
groups 15-25 & 25-55 prefer Allopathic treatment for
toothache, whereas the older ones prefer Ayurvedic. Women
prefer Allopathy but Ayurvedic treatment follows closely for
treatment of toothache.
OVERALL HEALTH AND FITNESS: Only 21% males & 46%
females prefer consuming health supplements, with an
increase in the age group 25-55years. With increasing age, both
males & females opt for yoga and regular walks to maintain
overall fitness, while the younger public prefers yoga and the
use of gymnasium facilities.
PEOPLE’S BELIEF IN AYURVEDIC SYSTEM OF MEDICINE:
Approximately 65% males & 50% females are of the opinion
that Ayurvedic medicines have the potential to cure diseases
like cancer and AIDS. About 62% males & 66% females think
that Ayurvedic medicine systems are at par with Allopathic
system, while 26% males & 16% females think they are not.
Some of the reasons stated were less availability, long time for
action and less reliability.
Thus, with regards to the data available and through
interaction with respondents, it is evident that Allopathic
medicine system still remains the preferred method of
treatment, with Ayurveda closely following as a counterpart,
though quite a few believe in a combination of both the systems.
Compiled by:
Abha Marathe, Aniket Bachchav, Asmita Ranbhise,
Neha Maliwal, Reshma Gavale, Saumya Gupta,
Snehal Ahiwale, Shradha Bakare(MBA-BT SEM III)
3
 Article
AYURVEDA :
A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY?
India with its rich heritage and culture has a traditional system
of healing arts, which has been in practice for over more than
3000 years. Ayurvedic medicines are majorly divided into
Herbal and Rasa Shastra. Formulations of all kinds of medicines
are mentioned in over 54 classical texts including Ashtanga,
Charaka Samhita, Sushruta, etc. along with recent research and
text. There has been a general impression that Ayurvedic
medicines are becoming increasingly popular worldwide with
an expected market share of $50 bn US by 2010, as stated by
CII. But the harsh reality is that hardly any Ayurvedic drugs or
patents’ proprietary is exported from India. Moreover, these
exports are restricted to countries in the Middle East and
South-East Africa.
According to the Indian Drug and Cosmetics Act - 1940,
Ayurvedic medicines are classified under clause 3A and 3H. In
recent times, there is big shift towards herbal medicines and a
large number of MNCs as well as NRIs hold patents on
medicinal plants. However, today in the Indian market, over
70% of the drugs sold under the Ayurvedic label are branded
versions of the drugs classified under Patents & Proprietary
medicines, which have no resemblance to the classical
Ayurvedic products. Drugs of natural origin form a major part of
such therapies; more than 1500 herbals are sold as
dietary supplements or ethnic traditional medicines. “While
Ayurvedic texts may tell you that a plant has certain benefits,
you still need to identify which variety of this plant is best and
you need to ensure that your product is stable. The metabolites
of a plant will vary from one to another.” was the opinion of a
senior research fellow.
For Indian companies to foray in patenting, an investment of
approximately $20,000 US for patent preparation along with
annual maintenance $5000 and $1000 for language translation
of old Ayurvedic books is required. But corporates rarely
acknowledge ancient & traditional facts, for e.g. a small change
in the product and they claim it as an invention.
Most of the Ayurvedic products are marketed either as drugs or
dietary supplements, which are not approved by the US FDA.
Globally, these products are available on internet and
according to US FDA, these products are not evaluated or
monitored by them before being marketed. They are also of
the view that clinical experience available for botanical drugs
used in traditional systems of medicine is a valuable input,
which can lead to fast track clearance for marketing these
products, particularly for diseases that are not served by
modern medicine. Development of consumer awareness to
consult professionals rather than relying on e-marketed
Ayurvedic drugs, is a very important aspect. Currently, the
Indian Government has issued official guidelines for clinical
trials of Ayurvedic medicines, whereas a few institutes are also
conducting them voluntarily.
Pursuing the goal of popularising the ancient Indian system of
Ayurveda (primarily based on medicinal plants) by promoting
and marketing classical Ayurvedic products and practices in the
global markets is an uphill task. On the other hand, there is
ample opportunity for developing products based on the
proven therapeutic utility of medicinal plants and getting them
approved as prescription drugs, OTC preparations or even as
Nutraceuticals under, for e.g., the Food and Dietary
Supplement Bill (1994) of US FDA. Screening of medicinal
plants, their total/fractionated extracts or active principles
responsible for therapeutic activity will continue to be a
profitable approach to New Drug Discovery. Of even greater
relevance is the possibility of using medicinal plant extracts as
Combinatorial Libraries, which may be put through High
Throughput Screening using cell lines, conventional in-vivo
screening models as well as molecular targets based on
molecular biology and genetics.
The World, thus, has a great opportunity to fully utilise the
knowledge base developed over centuries of one of the most
practiced traditional systems of medicine, Ayurveda. The
Department of Indian Systems Of Medicine and Homeopathy,
responsible for the development and protection of indigenous
systems of medicine and utilization of the country's heritage
and knowledge base should take the lead in developing suitable
strategies and evolving action programmes to ensure high
value-addition to these valuable resources. The Ayurvedic
industries can no longer claim that there is no incentive from
the Government for patenting. The main challenge is to
unshield the traditional methods and practices. Government
and the industry should collate their resources to help the
Indian Ayurvedic industry emerge as leaders. Companies need
to work out property protection modalities to protect these
resources from unauthorized exploitation by third parties,
through pro-active legislation if necessary, under a ''Sui
Generis'' system i.e. for plant variety protection of Ayurvedic
plants.
Compiled by: Snehal Shinde (MBA-BT Sem III)
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 ‘Innov’Era
‘FLU STOP’
Swine flu has
claimed more than
18,300 lives
globally, out of
which more than
2300 are Indians,
and has affected
some 214 countries
since its outbreak
in Mexico last year.
India has registered around 42,000 cases of swine flu till date.
With swine flu came the opportunity for vaccine manufacturing
companies to produce the vaccine for swine flu at the earliest.
As there was no vaccine produced indigenously, India had to
import “Panenza” the vaccine from French manufacturer Sanofi
Pasteur. But taking into consideration India’s sheer vastness
and diverse population, there was a need for a vaccine which
was produced indigenously and which was more suitable for
Indian population.
The Indian companies started R&D and got into the process of
developing a vaccine. Zydus Cadila, Serum Institute of India,
Panacea Biotec and Bharat Biotech were some of the
prominent Indian companies who were involved in the process
of development of the vaccine. This led to a four way battle
between the companies. But in the end it was Zydus Cadila who
succeeded in making the vaccine before its competitors.
th
On June 4 , 2010 Ahmedabad based Zydus Cadila launched
India’s first ever indigenous flu vaccine “Vaxiflu-S”. The single
shot vaccine created by using the H1N1 strains given by WHO
was priced at Rs. 350. The vaccine produced by Zydus Cadila is
inactivated egg-based injectible vaccine. The vaccine is
available at drug stores against the prescription and is priced at
around Rs. 300- 400 for a single dose.
But the vaccine has limitations of its own. It can be used only
by people aged from 18-60years and is not suitable for small
children and pregnant women. It has a shelf life of a year and
provides protection only for one year. Also, since the vaccine is
egg-based it cannot be used by people allergic to eggs.
However the vaccine is found to be effective with minor side
effects like pain in the area of administration. The other side
effects include fever, aches and mild soreness.
In the month of July, Pune based Serum Institute of India
launched its intra-nasal vaccine for swine flu “NasoVac”.
Nasovac is a whole-virion inactivated egg-based vaccine. The
virus is killed and hence does not cause any infection but
induces systematic immunity. The route of administration
mimics the path followed by the virus which is found to be
more effective. The vaccine also exhibits Herd Immunity which
means people who are not vaccinated if come in contact with
vaccinated people may also get protection. The vaccine is
priced at Rs. 160 for a single dose and can be used for active
immunization of individuals above 3 years which remains
effective for a year.
However, the vaccine
cannot be
administered to
people allergic to eggs,
children less than 5
years having history of
recurrent wheezing,
children or adults
receiving aspirin,
pregnant women, people with medical history like chronic
heart or lung disease, uncontrolled diabetes or kidney failure
and illness that weaken immune system. The side effects
include sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion or cough, chills,
tiredness, weakness, sore throat and headache.
Panacea Biotec and Bharat Biotech are also ready with their
own versions of the vaccine but are yet to introduce them in
the market. Panacea Biotec has developed “PandyFlu” which is
a split virion vaccine developed using embryonated chicken
eggs whereas Bharat Biotech became India’s first company to
develop cell culture based vaccine against swine flu “HN-VAC”.
Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to protect people
from contracting illness during influenza epidemics and
pandemics. No matter who emerges victorious in the
competition of developing the vaccine against swine flu, the
only beneficiary is going to be the public. With more and more
companies coming up with their own versions of vaccines the
people will definitely be benefited with cheaper and quality
vaccines.
Compiled By: Hitesh Patil (MBA-BT Sem III)
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 The Industry Buzz
CAPPING THE DRUG PRICES
The Indian society has always been facing problems of drug
availability and drug affordability. The prices of essential drugs
in India have always been at a rise. One class of patients that
suffers the most is the one of Cancer patients. In India, every
year an estimated number of 700,000 patients are diagnosed
with different forms of cancers. Most of them are unable to
afford the highly priced anti-cancer drugs available in the
market. The Indian medical and healthcare system does offer
cheaper therapies but, the unavailability of drugs due to
elevated prices is an issue. For e.g., certain anti-cancer drugs
remain pricey, despite not being patented.
A ray of hope for the cancer patients is that the Indian
Government has finally decided to gauge the soaring prices of
anti-cancer drugs. The already expensive oncology medication
needed to be capped at some point. The National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India (NPPA), the authority
responsible for controlling the pricing of drugs in India has
identified around 70 such anti-cancer drugs. The drug list
includes many anti breast cancer as well as anti-leukemia drugs
such as Letrozole and Imatinib.
SUN PHARMA WINS TARO BATTLE
Sun Pharma, India’s biggest pharmaceutical company by
market capitalization, has finally won the long fought legal
battle against the Israeli Pharmaceutical company Taro. The
bitter battle ended two years after the Supreme Court of Israel
dismissed the appeal of Taro to block the attempts to acquire
the firm.
Sun Pharma already owns 36% shares of Taro. Now it will buy
12% of the shares from the promoter family (Levitt’s). Two
years ago, Taro had terminated an agreement of about $454 US
million saying it was undervalued. The argument put forward
by Sun Pharma was that the valuation was done on the basis of
Taro’s then financial position and was justified.
Sun Pharma will be shelling out $37 US million more to acquire
the other 12% shares. After completion of open offer, its voting
shares will increase to 65% which will give Sun Pharma full
control over Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Compiled By: Sumantsinh Girase (MBA-BT Sem III)

The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, has DPCO notified under

it. Unfortunately, this DPCO is almost 15 years old and
unrevised. It does not include the list of anti-cancer drugs
which require revision in pricing. The Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has also stated that high drug
prices make them unavailable to the people who need them
the most.

The mechanism proposed for fixing the prices was expected to

have two types of prices: one price for the open market and
the other for the prescriptions that generate mostly from the
Public Health facilities. This proposal reduces the price of the
drugs by almost 40 to 70% than the negotiated price in the
Indian market. This proposal witnessed severe opposition by
the industry and
thus government has sought fresh inputs from the industry.
The NPPA aims at fixing and controlling the prices of these
drugs within the rules and regulations. However, for lowering
the drug prices, the drug has to have a high turnover and
monopoly in the market. The anti-cancer drugs have been
escaping the price cut due to these two constraints.

Another alternative suggested by the Department of Pharmacy

was that the prices of the patented drugs be negotiated before
the launch of these drugs in Indian market. It would be
interesting to see how many drugs actually undergo the review
and how many pass the test.

6
 Candid Talk
TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH AYURVEDA
An interview with Mr. S. D. Dharmadhikari
Mr. Dharmadhikari is Senior Sales Manager at Akshaya
Remedies.
The PUMBA GAZETTE Interview Team got an opportunity to
interact with Sir.
Q1. Can you briefly introduce us to Akshaya Remedies?
Akshaya Remedies is an Ayurveda-based pharmaceutical
company founded in 1994 by Mr. M.Y. Paranjpe. The company
manufactures 18 kinds of products and has a certification for
manufacturing 30 formulations. The formulations are a
combination of Sanjeevan Chikitsa and Ayurveda. The
manufacturing plant is situated in Dhayari, Pune.
Q2. What kind of products do you manufacture? What type of
R&D is currently taking place in the Ayurvedic industry?
Akshaya Remedies manufactures a variety of products which
are basically used for preventive measures. The product Y-
Virilin is in major demand in India, which is used to conceive a
male child when planning for the second offspring. Other
products like Shankhapushpi plus, Dash 4, Discap are used for
increasing the vigour, curing skin problems etc. These are the
proprietary medicines.
Q3. Where does the Indian Ayurvedic industry stand currently
when compared to the Allopathic industry?
There is no comparison between the Ayurvedic and Allopathic
industry. Ayurvedic products do not give an instant cure and
continuous dosages are recommended. It deals basically with
preventive measures. The Allopathic industry is not as efficient
as the Ayurvedic industry in curing diseases like eczema, and
digestive problems. Ayurvedic treatments show less side
effects as compared to Allopathic treatments. Although the
traditional Ayurvedic formulations are perceived to be not as
proficient as Allopathic drugs, this notion is bound to change in
the coming years.
Q4. What role does Akshaya Remedies play in strengthening
the Ayurvedic industry in India?
Akshaya Remedies is into manufacturing of a number of
different products which are consumed regularly by people for
maintaining their health and curing certain diseases. The
company has a huge demand for its products and it also
provides funds to budding entrepreneurs. A person who
is interested in setting up his own company can approach
Akshaya Remedies with a project plan and can be funded for
his project. Akshaya Remedies has funded 12 such projects till
date.
Q5. What kind of support is provided by the Government to
support the Ayurvedic industry in India?
The Government of India along with Maharashtra Ayurvedic
Centre has initiated a venture called CLUSTER. Mrs. Sunita
Belgamvar is the head of the project. It is a Rs. 15 crore project
where the government has contributed Rs. 10 crore. The
venture is expected to contribute 60% of the exports. The
organization will deal with distinction of products according to
their formulations, raw material testing, manufacturing liquid
and powder based ointments.
Q6. What are the future prospects of Ayurveda in India and
globally as well?
CLUSTER is the venture which will contribute majorly to the
exports in India. The Government is also working on the in-
house laboratory setup. Countries like Italy and Rome are the
major players in formulating new herbal-based drugs. In
countries like America and France a commissioner is appointed
for the quality testing and assurance of the Indian herbal
formulations exported.
Q7. Most of the companies dealing with Ayurvedic products
begin with pharmaceuticals and slowly enter the FMCG sector.
So according to you why is this shift seen? And what role does
the customer play in this shift?
The company trends should not ideally change. After the R&D,
the companies should not solely focus on commercially
exploiting it but they should focus more on expanding their
research.
Q8. Does the brand name play any role in the success of any
Ayurvedic products?
Yes. The brand name definitely plays an important role in the
sales of the product. Also, the consumer shows more trust for
FDA approved products. The consumer assumes that these
products have undergone all the quality assurance tests.
Q9. Many companies are entering the business of nutra-
ceuticals, which are active ingredients of plant extracts used for
specific health benefits and are sold as OTC products. Do you
think this affects the traditional Ayurveda system?
Some organisations which totally focus on Ayurvedic treatment
for relieving any physical or mental stress are affected due to
the nutraceuticals. One such organisation at Uralikanchan near
Pune, offers different kinds of treatments with a
staying facility in their organisation. Along with the treatments
they also focus on the diet (vegetables are grown there itself).
Such organisations could be affected with the increasing use of
nutraceuticals.
Q10. Today, in the Indian market, over 70% of all drugs sold
under the Ayurvedic label are branded versions of the drugs
classified under patents and proprietary medicines, which have
no resemblance to the classical Ayurvedic products. What is
your opinion on these products?
As I mentioned above, the companies which do not formulate
their products in the traditional manner often use the extracts
only for the scent. For example, the almond oil, Neem extracts
used in the face washes are not the actual extracts. Whereas
the extracts used in the formulations are the powders or oils
extracted from the herbs.
Compiled by:
Priyanka Dhanjal, Tushar Pareek (MBA-BT SEM III),
Mrinmayi Huprikar, Ekta Sharma (MBA BT SEM I)
7
 PUMBA News
CHAPTER MEET 2010
The PUMBA Alumni Cell organizes a major annual event:
‘Chapter Meet’ across 5 cities in India viz. Pune, Mumbai, Delhi,
Bangalore and Hyderabad. This year the Chapter Meet was
th th
successfully held on 18 September in Pune and on 25
September in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The
agenda for CM ’10 was Networking: Taking a step ahead. CM
’10 aimed to make the PUMBA alumni network more active
and stronger than before.
Chapter Meet ’10 received an enthusiastic response at all five
venues. Eminent alumni put forth and discussed several topics
pertaining to the agenda, like Barrier-free communication
across alumni network, Alumni newsletter, Operational
efficiency of database, Social causes as networking platform,
Social networking and PUMBA Alumni Association.
The Alumni Cell hopes that CM ’10 inspires and re-inspires the
pride and passion of being a PUMBAite throughout the alumni
network, fortifying the bond with our alma mater - PUMBA.
PUNE POLICE INTERNS PUMBA
The students of PUMBA got a unique opportunity to participate
in an internship program of eight days with the Pune Police.
This program was initiated by the Commissioner of Police,
Pune, Dr. Meeran Borwankar, IPS with the help of the Dean of
Faculty of Management, Dr. (Capt.) C M Chitale. The objective
of this internship was to understand the functioning as well as
to reduce the negative impression about the police in the
minds of the people.
Following was the Road Map of this internship:-
1. Teaching of different constitutions as per situations as well
as terms and terminologies used in police stations (FIR,
bailable/non-bailable offence, etc.)
2. Understanding the organizational chart of the police or the
hierarchy of police
3. Practical Experience at Police station
4. Night Patrolling
5. Learning about the different departments of the police
6. Practical Experience of handling traffic of Pune with
the traffic police
7. Actual visit to the crime site (Crime of lower intensity)
The students presented their analysis and suggestions to Dr.
Borwankar who applauded them for their commitment and
dedication towards the project. She also accepted many
suggestions and congratulated our students for a unique and
united effort.
Thus, PUMBA added one more feather to its cap of glories. This
was probably the students’ first step to learn the Corporate
Social Responsibilities, even before entering the corporate
world.
INDUSTRY SPEAKS IN PUMBA
Mr. Harshal Jawale, Business analyst at CISCO Systems, San
th
Jose, California, visited the campus on 10 August, 2010. He
delivered a talk on “Developing Yourself” with the intention of
motivating students on embarking on a journey of improving
themselves. He emphasized on self motivation and the need of
a mentor in a student’s life.
We also had the privilege to have Mr. Sreejith Shankar of the
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering,
Politechnico de Milano, Italy, for a very informative guest
lecture. Mr. Shankar introduced the concepts of Scientific
Management as well as the various aspects of Pharmaceutical
Industry Management to the students. He touched upon topics
like ‘Present Scenario of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry’ as
well as introduced various types of Laboratory Management
techniques along with the SWOT analysis of the Pharmaceutical
Industry. He also discussed topics of utmost importance to this
industry like Laboratory safety, Waste management and the
advent of methodologies like LMIS (Laboratory Management
Information System). He also provided valuable insights to the
process of Drug Discovery and explained how students should
mould themselves to be employable in the pharmaceutical
industry.
Compiled by: Neeraja Namboodiri
(MBA-BT SEM III)