Indian pharmas protest US govt bids exclusion

Indian drug exporters are demanding the removal of a barrier to trade with the USA, which disqualifies them from bidding for government contracts. The demand is part of a series of issues that the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) wishes to raise with India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, after the latter announced that it would be holding talks with US counterparts. India's pharmaceutical exporters are also unhappy about the lack of uniform regulatory requirements by individual states of the USA, meaning that Indian firms have to submit sepe-rate applications for each jurisdiction. This is particularly resented in cases where the Food and Drug Administration has approved manufacturing facilities and products. Other complaints include: delays for pharmaceutical products manufactured in India to be cleared through US Customs and what the industry considers to be "non-tariff-barriers" against generic products, including ibuprofen.