India's biopharma surges on outsourcing boom

A combination of a weakened currency and an urgent need to cut costs at big pharma companies is driving a surge of drug development and manufacturing business for India. The Wall Street Journal says bad times in Big Pharma are spurring a boom for operators in India as well as China. And about the only near-term switch that could blunt the wave would be a decision to engineer a more valuable rupee.

But one analyst cautions that many Indian developers are finding that the transition from manufacturing generic drugs to devising new therapies can be hard.

"Two years ago, we thought Reddy would do it," said Sandeep Shenoy, a strategist at PINC Capital. "Three years back, we thought Cipla might do it. Every one of them has had problems."

- read the article from the Wall Street Journal