Hi, its a tad premature to comment on whether Indian companies are ready for consolidation or not....I am yet to see a clear 'blueprint' aiming to indicate when a sector or company is 'ready' for consolidation, its often a function of cost and innovation pressures. If the right mix of such pressures occurs, consolidation happens. At best, one may argue about the 'systematization' and 'final purpose/outcome'of the consolidation process. What really needs to be seen is whether consolidation would serve as the 'magical answer' both Indian and foreign companies are seeking. In fact, what is more critical is this: Irrespective of the consolidation scenario (which will play out anyways once the 'mix' is right)does the Indian pharma community have 'what it takes' to go beyond reverse-engineering and 'novel delivery forms' of patent-expired products and the overbearing reliance on the US as a driver for 'genericised' product portfolios? Currently, the consolidating market is a mixed bag, rife with mixed signals-Dabur sells out to Fresenius Kabi while another player argues that there are better times to come.In a sense I think Indian pharma is rather ready for consolidation because once that happens (& we realize the reality of our collective drug pipelines), we can go about looking to integrate the entire value chain from pre-clinical studies to final delivery - which would mean growth of the Indian CRO section (like Jubilant Organosys is aiming and Ocimum BioSciences is doing) as we
