India’s still long way off from reducing dependence on China for drug ingredients: Experts

India's dependence on China for “certain life-saving antibiotics” like penicillin and azithromycin is about 80 to 90 per cent. - ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH

NEW DELHI (The Straits TImes/Asia News Network): India has been taking measures to wean off dependence on China for ingredients that go into making a variety of drugs, including antibiotics.

But three years after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains from China, India is still a long way off from reducing imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) – chemicals responsible for the therapeutic effect of drugs, noted industry experts.