Belgium and Indian Acetic Anhydride Prices Decline In lieu of Easing Raw Material Costs, Amid Firm Demand

The prices of Acetic Anhydride in July have shown a declining trend due to weak cost support from feedstock acetic acid amid adequate market supply. Despite this, Acetic Anhydride demand from the downstream pharmaceutical industry remains firm.

In the meantime, Belgian biopharmaceutical company UCB saw an 11% boost in sales in the first half of the year, driven by double-digit growth for its epilepsy and postmenopausal osteoporosis medicines, as well as the launch of several new products. Sales were driven by significant growth for epilepsy treatments Briviact and Fintepla, and Evenity, which treats postmenopausal osteoporosis. Despite the Acetic Anhydride sales growth, UCB's underlying profit (adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization) for the first half of the year fell by 19% to €652 million, impacted by significantly higher operating expenses, including investments in launching new products. CEO Jean-Christophe Tellier stated that the number of global patients using Bimzelx has exceeded 35,000. The medicine has been available for psoriasis patients in the US since November of last year, and the company expects to expand its use for other conditions in the US by the end of this year.

In other news, the prices of Acetic Anhydride in India in July have shown a declining trend due to weak cost support from feedstock acetic acid amid adequate market supply. However, demand from the Acetic Anhydride downstream pharmaceutical industry remains firm. In the Interim Budget 2024-25, the Indian government allocated Rs. 1,000 crore (US$ 120 million) for promoting bulk drug parks, a significant increase from the previous year. The total outlay for the development of the Acetic Anhydride downstream pharmaceutical industry for FY25 was increased, while the budget for promoting medical device parks was raised to Rs. 150 crore (US$ 18 million). The allocation for assistance to medical device clusters for common facilities (AMD-CF) was set at Rs. 40 crore (US$ 4.1 million) for FY25.

The Indian Acetic Anhydride downstream pharmaceutical industry’s contract manufacturing business is expected to double over the next three years as the US implements its Biosecure Act, which aims to prohibit federal government bodies from sourcing equipment and services from Chinese Acetic Anhydride’s pharma companies. This shift in Acetic Anhydride manufacturing from China to India will likely double the contract Acetic Anhydride manufacturing segment and triple the contract research segment over the next three years, according to industry experts. The introduction of this Act by the US is anticipated to further accelerate the growth of contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and contract research organizations (CROs) in India.